Colchester United under-23 coach Wayne Brown says the fact that the club are competing in Professional Development League Two is a big plus point for the club.

The U's youngsters kick-off their league campaign tonight when they host Birmingham City, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium (kick-off 7pm).

Colchester will once again be a Category Two club this season, as part of the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) - and Brown believes that is a big selling point for a League Two club like the U's.

Brown said: “Another good thing for the football club is the games programme that we have.

“There are many clubs at our level who aren’t in our category, especially in division two.

“If you put the two together, it’s a great games programme and entering cup competitions against really good clubs, so it’s another opportunity for young players to progress and get regular football.

“At other clubs, you don’t get that opportunity and add to that the fact that if they do well and come through our system and perform well for the under-23s, there should be an opportunity in our first team for them if they progress and are good enough."

New academy signings Dan Jefferies, Dominic Kurasik and Callum Sturgess are all expected to feature for Colchester under-23s against Birmingham tonight as is attacker Courtney Senior, who spent all of last season on the sidelines through injury.