WAYNE Brown must be given the freedom to implement his own ideas and tactics during his time in charge of Colchester United.

That is the view of U's legend Karl Duguid, who is backing his former team-mate to be a big success during his interim spell in charge.

Brown has been given the task of turning Colchester's fortunes around, after taking temporary charge following the dismissal of Steve Ball on Tuesday night.

The U's are without a win in 13 matches and now lie seven points above the League Two relegation zone.

But Duguid, who was Brown's team-mate for three and a half years at Colchester where they won a historic promotion in 2006, insists his ex-colleague can lift the club out of their current malaise.

Duguid said: "I want Browny to do well because I know him and he knows the football club.

"He's interim at the moment but if he does well, then who knows?

"If it works out for him and we all hope it does, he'll get the management job full-time.

"He's someone who is passionate about the football club - he's not just someone who's coming in to better their career, do OK and then clear off.

"Yes if Browny does really then great and he might move on but he's done very well at Maldon, he's stepping in here and we wish him all the best.

"Let's get behind him, because at the end of the day, whoever takes over you want the football club to win football matches because they have to.

"If he ever wants anything, we're all on the other end of the phone - myself, Kemi, Watto, Jacko - if we can help, we'll help because we all want the club to be doing better than they are.

"Usually with a new manager coming on it gives everyone a little boost and hopefully that will happen.

"It's a different voice and when you're going through those bad runs, that can be vital.

"I'd like to think the club say to Browny 'go and do what you feel is best for the team'.

"Let him come in and lift the whole club.

"He's a manager with his own ideas and there's no point in putting him in and saying 'you have to do it like this' as you might as well have stuck with it and kept Bally.

"He might want to change the shape.

"Alright, they have a philosophy at the football club but sometimes, you might not have the players to play that philosophy.

"There's no point in putting square pegs in round holes because it won't work.

"You have to go with what they've got and he knows what they've got as he's been there a long time.

"He'll have a lot of information about the team and he's probably been to most games while Maldon and Tiptree having been playing and he's seen what's gone on.

"He's done a fantastic job at Maldon, albeit at a different level but let him get on with it and see how it goes.

"He has nothing to lose doing it that way, because if he goes in there and he gets told what to do, then he'll be thinking 'I wish I'd done that or this now'.

"He's going to have a helping hand from people behind the scenes and stuff like that but I'd like to see him get on with it, because he's a good coach, there's no doubt about that."

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Brown and Duguid played a big part in helping Colchester claim an historic promotion from League One under Phil Parkinson, in 2006.

And the following year, they were mainstays in Geraint Williams' side that achieved the club's highest-ever finish of tenth spot in the Championship.

"I roomed with Browny for two years," said Duguid, who made more than 450 appearances for the U's during his two spells at the club.

"He's a leader and the team we had, there were leaders all throughout the team.

"He was a strong character, a talker and an organiser both on and off the pitch.

"He's got that instilled in him and he was a stalwart - he loved clean sheets and if we were winning a game 4-0 and we conceded, he'd go mad.

"Browny has gone in and he knows the football club and what he wants to do.

"I'm sure he's got his own ideas and I'll be honest with you, he's been at the football club for a long time as a coach and manager.

"But I think he's probably learnt more in the last three years managing Maldon and Tiptree as a manager and about himself.

"He's learnt not only the money side of it but also how to manage players and to make them better at the level that they're playing at.

"Maldon improved every year and he helped them do that.

"I was a coach at Colchester for a while with the first team and with Browny with the youth team.

"But in the three years I've been at Heybridge, I've learnt more coaching wise and man management wise in that period of time.

"You're gaining that experience - people say Browny hasn't got the experience but he's got more experience than Parky had when he first walked in the door and Parky is hailed as arguably the club's best-ever manager!

"I think he'd maybe coached the reserves at Reading for a little while but Browny has got more experience than you actually think. "People talk about having an experienced guy but when you're at Maldon, you have to win football matches and let's get it right, Colchester have to win football matches.

"You can be manager of the youth teams but there's not pressure on you to get three points.

"That's why it's difficult for these young boys who come out of the under-23s into the first team, where for them it's been about developing over winning.

"It's a tough one because yes, you want to develop players but when you step into the first team, it's about three points and winning matches is the be all and the end all."

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Duguid says he has sympathy for Steve Ball, whose reign as Colchester head coach came to an end after less than seven months following a poor run of form.

Duguid, 42, who is now joint manager at Heybridge Swifts, added: "When Bally came in, we all know it was going to be a difficult period with what's gone on.

"We know the budget isn't what it was and with Covid, he was stuck in the deep end a little bit himself and it hasn't worked out.

"I feel for him - he's someone I know and you do feel for them when people lose their jobs.

"It's just not worked out for him. I spoke to him a couple of times during his time as manager and just said 'keep going'.

"It's not worked out but that's football - I think the lifespan in management is something like 18 months or less than that.

"I'm sure Bally tried as hard as he could but it just didn't work - it just didn't happen and when you get into that zone of losing games, it's very difficult."