THE transfer business Colchester United completed last week has been positively received.

The signings they made in the last few days of the window can give them just the kind of boost they need to go the full distance – and history shows it.

Much like the present-day side, the U’s had already established themselves as serious challengers by the turn of the calendar year when they last won promotion, back in 2006.

They undoubtedly already had a quality squad but in another striking parallel to the U’s current team, Phil Parkinson’s team then experienced a wobble in the weeks that followed that saw them slip out of the automatic promotion places.

The goals had dried up and Colchester had gone six games in a row without scoring; their promotion push was faltering.

It prompted Parkinson to bolster his attack with two months of the season to go by signing Scott Vernon, Billy Clarke and Jamal Campbell-Ryce on loan, along with Tony Thorpe on a free transfer from Swindon Town.

Slowly but surely, the goals began to flow again – and so did the points.

As we all know, Colchester went onto clinch automatic promotion on the final day of the season and all four late-season signings played their part in that feat.

They might not have set the world alight as individuals in those final two months of the season but the influence they had and the role they collectively played in lifting the U’s at just the right time cannot be underestimated.

Fast forward 13 years and the U’s are hoping to clinch their first promotion since Parkinson’s squad achieved their historic feat.

Like that successful side, John McGreal’s team of 2019 recently experienced a blip with a run of one win in seven.

But after adding three new signings last week, they roared back to form in style at Northampton Town last weekend.

Ben Stevenson, Abo Eisa and Callum Roberts have all come in and lifted the squad just when they needed it most, with all three playing their part in the thumping 4-0 triumph at Sixfields.

If the trio have a similar impact to that enjoyed by the likes of Vernon and Campbell-Ryce in the remaining three months of Colchester’s most recent promotion-winning season, they might just help their new club achieve something special once again.