Alex Gilbey admits he still has plenty to learn as a footballer.

But the talented youngster says he is determined to further establish himself in Colchester United’s midfield this season.

Gilbey played in 70 per cent of the U’s games last term, skippering them on several occasions and becoming a regular under boss Tony Humes.

But as he prepares to report for pre-season fitness testing with his Colchester team-mates today, the former Gilberd School pupil concedes he is still developing as a player.

Gilbey said: “I’m happy to have played 30-40 games last season and it would be great to even more, next time.

“It was a dream to captain Colchester, especially for someone my age – it was the icing on the cake for me.

“I’ve got a lot of games under my belt now but I know that I still have plenty to learn.

“We left it until the final eight minutes of the season to stay up and did it the hard way.

“But it was a great feeling and ten times better than playing at Wembley (while on loan at Newport).

“The gaffer said a lot of home truths after the Chesterfield defeat and said that we needed to look at ourselves.

“That hit home to everyone hard and after that, we put in results and performances that you would see from a side chasing promotion.”

During his days in Colchester’s youth team, Gilbey worked closely with Humes while he was in charge of the U’s academy.

The 20-year-old says he is looking forward to playing under him again, in the 2015-16 campaign.

“Everyone’s on the same page as the gaffer and Richard (Hall) and it’s exciting to be at Colchester,” added Gilbey, who made his U’s senior debut in October, 2012.

“Tony and Richard have been a massive help to me, both on and off the pitch.

“I really enjoyed working under him and looking forward to doing so again, next season.”

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