Colchester full-back Matt Lockwood is relishing the opportunity to impress new boss Aidy Boothroyd.
Us defender hoping to catch Boothroyd's eye
Colchester United full-back Matt Lockwood is relishing the opportunity to impress new boss Aidy Boothroyd, having been frozen out of the first-team picture by Paul Lambert.
The 32-year-old made just five appearances for the Us last term, after joining from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2008, and was forced to train with the youth team during pre-season.
However, Lambert departed for Norwich City last month and his successor Aidy Boothroyd has given everyone an equal chance to impress, with Lockwood delighted to be back in contention.
"I didn't think that I would ever play again whilst Paul Lambert was still in charge, so it was great to have a run around in the cup game last week and I really enjoyed it. The final result was disappointing, but from my point of view it was good to be back involved," he told
skysports.com.
"The gaffer has taken over and has told everyone that they will be starting with a clean slate and he seems to be a really genuine manager.
"Training has improved vastly since he took the reins and everyone seems to have a chance to impress him.
"It is the million dollar question, whether I'd have left if Lambert was still in charge, but things definitely wouldn't have changed for me, so it would have depended on what was out there for me."
