Alex Woodyard relishing Colchester United role under Cowleys

The 31-year-old midfielder plays an important role for the U’s under Danny Cowley and was an unsung hero in their 3-0 win over Tranmere Rovers, last weekend.

Woodyard admits that sometimes his hard work in midfield goes unnoticed but says he is fine with that, providing the team are performing and getting results.

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Woodyard said: “When you have the good attacking players that we have here, you’ve got to accept that you’re not going to take the headlines because they’re such good players.

“I don’t always get the recognition that people are noticing what I do and what I bring to the side.

“Sometimes in my career, it has gone unnoticed but having an unsung role suits me really.

“I’m not one to want the headlines or anything like that.

“So as long as I can do my job to help the team and players like Lyle (Taylor) can get goals, then I’m happy.”

(Image: STEVE BRADING)

Woodyard told his story recently to his Colchester team-mates, a ritual that all of the U’s squad have been embarking on under the Cowleys.

The experienced midfielder had plenty to say, following a career that has taken in the likes of Lincoln City, AFC Wimbledon and Peterborough United and seen him clock up more than 450 career appearances, to date.

“I don’t like talking about myself, so it was tough,” said Woodyard, who joined Colchester on a one-year deal from York City in the summer to reunite with the Cowleys for a fourth time in his career.

“But I think the boys enjoyed it, so that’s the main thing.

“I’ve got a few stories to tell…some I have to keep in the changing room!

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“It’s been good so far but it’ll be good to continue the journey.

“Where I’ve played under Danny and Nicky for so long and you see the hard work they put in and the previous results, going into the Tranmere game I did feel a little bit nervous because I wanted to get the win for them and also the fans.

“Sometimes, when you don’t have that much of a relationship with the manager, you do kind of think about yourself and your team-mates.

“But I think there was also a bit of added pressure of fans travelling all the way up to Morecambe and I knew the work that they put in that week and how much I wanted to get a result for Danny and Nick.

“I’ve enjoyed my football the most working with Danny and Nicky and it’s good to get the love back.

(Image: CU-FC.COM)

“I think you’re starting to see that we‘re gelling as a team – it takes a long time to completely gel so if we can get results while that process is happening, then it’s better for the side.”

Woodyard will be hoping to help Colchester register back-to-back league wins for the first time this season when they visit high-flying Walsall on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm).

Woodyard added: “All of the games are tough and they all ask different questions of the team.

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“We’ve done some work on Walsall and who their key players are – they’ve got threats all over the park and for sure, they’ve started the season very well, so it’ll be a tough game for us.

“It just a case of going there and making sure we put a performance in.

“It was a really good win on Saturday, for a number of reasons really.

“It came off the back of our draw at Morecambe which was very disappointing, so to have kept a clean sheet and scored three goals was really good.

“It sets us up nicely, going into Saturday’s game.”