DANNY Cowley insists Colchester United will be ‘really aggressive’ in their pursuit of new signings, this summer.

And the U’s head coach is anticipating them needing to bring in a lot of new players ahead of next season.

It promises to be a new-look Colchester squad for next season, with a host of players set to leave the JobServe Community Stadium and boss Cowley is excited by the prospect of building a squad capable of challenging at the top end of League Two.

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Cowley said: “We’re actively looking and we will be really aggressive.

“I think we’re going to need to be, because if it unfolds the way I anticipate it will, we will need to bring a lot of players in to try to support the ones that we already have here.

“I think this can be really exciting.

“For us, we have total clarity over how we want to play and the type of player that we need to be able to play in the different positions within our team and then it’s about getting the right relationships and the right combinations.

“Partnerships can be so important in football and as well as all this, we need to get the right characters and the right people.

Gazette: Danny Cowley

“I love players that you have to hold back, not the ones that you have to push forward.

“If we can the players with the big personalities and the big enthusiasm and the passion and love for the game, then this to me is so exciting.

“I look at this club and I think none of us should put any ceiling on what is possible.

“I know that it’s had some tough times in recent years but this has got really good foundations.

“Robbie (Cowling) has built a club with really strong foundations and I think what we now have to do is turn those foundations into a springboard, so that we can really push on.”

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Cowley revealed last week that he has had some ‘really difficult conversations’ with players, as Colchester look to build for next season.

Cowley, along with his brother and assistant head coach Nicky Cowley and sporting director Dmitri Halajko, have been meeting all of Colchester’s first-team players, now that their season has finished.

A number of U’s players are out of contract this summer including John Akinde, Tom Dallison and Cameron McGeehan while their loanees have returned to their respective parent clubs.

Colchester are expected to announce their retained list, in the coming days.