MARC Tierney created history when he ran out for the first time as a Colchester United player last weekend.

For he became the second of the Tierney siblings to pull on a U’s shirt.

In representing Colchester, the on-loan Shrewsbury Town defender followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Paul.

He played four games on loan from Manchester United in 2004 and now plays for Altrincham, in the Blue Square Premier.

The Tierneys are the only on-loan brothers to have ever played for the U’s – and to continue the coincidence, both can play at left-back.

They follow in the footsteps of Bobby and Ronnie Hunt, Lloyd and KK Opara, David and Alan Buck, and Tom and Tony English, who were signed on permanent deals with the club.

So did Marc contact his older brother Paul for any advice, prior to his move from the Shrews?

“I spoke to Paul a little bit about Colchester just before I came but it’s all changed so much since he was at the club,” he said.

He may have only been at the club for little more than a week, but it is fair to say that the younger of the Tierney brothers has been left suitably impressed by what he has seen so far.

And the tough-tackling 23-year-old is hoping that the feeling will be mutual – so that he can turn his loan move to the U’s into a permanent one, when the transfer window re-opens next month.

Tierney is out of contract in the summer and is keen for his long-term future to be with Paul Lambert and his side. He told the Gazette: “The idea is for the move to become permanent.

“I want to show my worth to the club and hopefully that will stand me in good stead.

“It’s going really well so far and I can’t say enough good things about the club.

“Training has been bright and lively and the gaffer is really enthusiastic, as is his staff.

“The chairman has been absolutely brilliant – he’s helped me to settle down in a place just near the town centre.

“It was good to start off with the win (against Northampton) and now we’re looking to try and get another three points tomorrow.”

Tierney’s personal circumstances mean that it is even more important for him to settle quickly in his new environment.

His girlfriend is pregnant and the couple are expecting their baby to be born in March.

“With the circumstances, it was a bit tricky,” admitted the former Oldham Athletic defender.

“But once I came down and saw the new ground and heard about the new training facilities on their way next year, that made my mind up for me.

“Football-wise, it didn’t really take me long to decide to come to Colchester United.

“I heard the manager’s enthusiasm and the chairman and I knew that I wanted to play in League One again.

“Everything else fell into place after that.”

Tierney is now looking forward to playing in front of the U’s home supporters for the first time.

He is likely to get his chance tomorrow, when Colchester take on Coca-Cola League One strugglers Hereford United at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

A win against the Bulls could take the U’s into the top half of the table – providing other results go in their favour.

“I can’t wait to get out there tomorrow if selected and put in a good performance for the home fans,” added Tierney, who has made 89 starts for Shrewsbury.

“I just hope that I can hold down a first team place and keep it going.

“I think we’re definitely good enough to push for the play-offs – before I came here the league position looked worse than it was.

“But when you get a couple of wins together, you can fly up the table.”