TAFARI Moore says he immediately felt a ‘winning mentality’ among his Colchester United team-mates after linking up with them on loan.

The 22-year-old has been impressed by the positive atmosphere within the U’s squad, who head into tonight’s home clash with Bradford City on the back of an impressive 13-match unbeaten run.

“I could feel the winning mentality and the vibes when I came in,” said Moore, who has signed for Colchester on loan from their League Two rivals Plymouth Argyle until the end of the season.

“Everyone is pretty much relaxed, as if they know that they are going to win.

“That’s important so for me, coming in was quite easy.

“It’s horrible when you come into a team and they’re under pressure.

“To come into a team who are now 13 games unbeaten is great.”

Moore says he was encouraged by a conversation he had with boss John McGreal, upon arriving at Colchester last week.

“I think the manager values me and I think the conversation I had with him when I came in really showed that,” said the England under-20 international, who made his U’s debut in their 2-1 win over Macclesfield Town, last Saturday.

“It really lifted up my spirits and he believes in me.

“The manager said he remembered me from when I was playing at Wycombe.

“I’m so happy to be here and it’s kind of funny that my first League Two game when I was at Wycombe was against Colchester.

“The last thing I thought was going to happen was going straight into the team!

“When the manager told me I was playing, I had excited nerves because my last league game was a year and a bit ago.

“I felt a bit leggy out there – I’m glad that we won which is important and I’m just so happy.

“I’m still getting familiar with the players and how they play.

“But what the manager here wants from his full-backs is my game and what I enjoy doing.”

Moore has found his opportunities restricted at Plymouth under boss Ryan Lowe.

The former Arsenal youngster has featured only twice for the Pilgrims this season, with both appearances coming in cup matches.

He said: “I’ve been a bit unfortunate with my situation, not being able to play with the first team.

“I had a few niggles with injuries and stuff like that and that’s pretty much been my season so far.

“I’m a young player and I want to be playing football – he (Ryan Lowe) knows that as well.

“I was training with the youth team; no disrespect to the youth players but I thought ‘no, I can’t be doing this’ so when this came up I was like ‘yeah, let’s just get this going’.

“I’m here now and this is where my focus is – I want to play as many games as possible.

“The next few games are really big for us and I want to be involved in them.”