Colchester United new boy Luke Hannant on new challenge

The 27-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the U’s from Cambridge United, whom he helped secure promotion to League One, in the last campaign.

Hannant, who can play on either wing or in a central role, played 48 times for Cambridge in their successful season.

And after being impressed by boss Hayden Mullins and his new club, the former Port Vale attacker is excited about the season ahead.

Hannant said: “As soon as I met with the gaffer at the training ground a few weeks ago and he told me about all of his plans for the new season, the squad that he wants to create here and the environment he wants to bring in, it’s a similar environment to the one I had last season at Cambridge.

“It’s a group of people who all want to come in and work hard on and off the field, with that togetherness there.

“With his ambition as a young manager and with the experience that he’s got as a player now starting off as a coach, you’ll find it hard to find someone like him in this league.

“I feel that that can help me and the team that he’s building and we can go on and have a good season.

“It was a tough season for them last year and for me as an outsider, I always found it hard coming here and playing against Colchester.

“The players they had last season were class on paper and it was a really tough place to come and play football.

“Hopefully it was just an off season for them and with the new players and new environment that he wants to build, there’s no reason why we can’t create something special this season and definitely move higher up the table.”

Hannant spent two seasons at Cambridge, playing a total of 77 games for the club after joining them in 2019.

He admits leaving them was a ‘tough and emotional decision’ but is now looking to playing his part for Colchester, in the 2021-22 campaign.

“I just wanted that new challenge of going to a new club, a new environment, working under a new gaffer and being involved in a different team,” said Hannant, who started his career at Gateshead.

“Hopefully that can help me carry on having a good career.

“It was a tough and emotional decision, having created so many relationships and bonds over the last two years.

“I had that promotion season under my belt and experienced all of the highs of that, it was a tough decision.

“But something outside of my control couldn’t be sorted between myself and the club and it was then decided that I would have to move on and start a new challenge somewhere else and that’s just how it is.

“You have to take everything into consideration.

“The club has gone up into League One now and it’s their first season in that league, so they’re just looking to try and look after themselves as well as everyone else.

“But at the end of the day, it’s just one of those decisions I’ve had to make at this stage of my career.

“I’m 27 now and I needed to go somewhere where I know I’m going to play a lot of minutes.”