JOHN McGreal will be striving for improvement at Colchester United next time around - despite the club having just enjoyed one of their best seasons in years.

That is the view of U's legend Steve Foley, who believes head coach McGreal will be eager to build on their achievements in the 2019-20 season.

Colchester reached the League Two play-offs and made the League Cup quarter-finals for only the second time in their history, in the current campaign.

But popular former U's player and caretaker boss Foley, who was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame last year, says his old club will want to go one step further next season.

"They've done some great things this season and you just hope they can make that next step," said Foley, who made more than 300 league and cup appearances for the U’s between 1971 and 1981 after emerging through the youth ranks at Layer Road.

"John (McGreal) having been a professional at the top level will be looking at it thinking 'what can we do just to add to things'.

"I can remember when we were at Norwich, we had a good year going up but then we said it wasn't good enough and that we had to do the real stuff.

"You keep adding things as you go along, you're never satisfied.

"I'm sure they won't be satisfied with it; although they've had a great year, they'll be looking at it saying 'we've got to go one step further'.

"They're that near to it and people say well that should be easy, but it isn't.

"I'm sure that they're looking at things that might need adding, whether it's fitness, scoring off set plays or something else and find out what it is."

Foley has agreed to continue working with Thurlow Nunn League outfit Harwich and Parkeston next season.

The former Ipswich Town and Norwich City coach will resume his role at the Royal Oak, where he has been advising boss Mike Wallace and his assistant Gary Kioussis and helping with coaching.

"I know the chairman Tony Armstrong because we played in the same youth team together, many years ago," said the 67-year-old.

"They contacted me and said that they wanted a little bit of help.

"I went down to see Tony and Mike (Wallace) and had a little chat.

"I said I can't get down as much as you'd probably like but I will when I can and we'll have a little chat and do a session when I can and that's how it was.

"They'd obviously liked what I'd done and I'd quite enjoyed it so I said I'd give it a go.

"It suits me because it's just down the road, from Manningtree.

"I'm a giver and I want people to have the sort of career I've had.

"Alright, I wasn't a top, top player but I played professionally and I've coached.

"I've done most things so I just want to pass it on and hope that someone else will get that bug which I obviously had when I was younger.

"What I've got to do which I've got a knack of doing is coach what is in front of me.

"You have to adjust to whatever you've got in front of you.

"They have one or two good boys and I think talking to Mike (Wallace), they're going to go with a lot of young kids because I don't think that they can get relegated out of that league.

"That's up my street really, because when I first started coaching with Colchester we were in the South East Counties league and in the bottom half every year.

"But I managed to bring through the likes of Paul Abrahams and Karl Duguid and that's the aim.

"I can remember Graham Taylor always saying to me that the most important thing as a youth-team coach is having the best player on the pitch, not the result.

"Harwich are now looking to bring a lot of youth through, with one or two experienced players to help them."

Foley, who also coached Leiston's under-15 and under-16 sides last year, still loves coaching.

In addition to his considerable contribution at Colchester as a player and coach, he spent time at Norwich where he worked at first team, reserve and academy level and also at Ipswich.

He also provided his wealth of knowledge at a number of non-league clubs in north Essex and Suffolk.

Foley added: "It's nice that they want the help.

"A lot of young coaches think they know it all and I was probably like that when I first started.

"But I'm still learning now and I think you've just got to want to improve really.

"Because I was so enthusiastic and loved the game, I stayed in it 50 years so someone must have thought I was doing something right.

"To me, it was just a normal love of the game and enjoying it.

"It's like any work - if you don't like going into work, you don't give 100 per cent and football is just the same.

"It's about enjoying your football and seeing where it takes you.

"I've got diabetes which puts me in the more at risk group so I have to be a bit cautious and it's a matter of being sensible and taking it from there.

"The Leiston manager Dave Williams was a physio at Ipswich when I was there and he asked me to do that, so I'm hoping to get over there as well.

"Lawford have also approached me and I'm hoping to get involved a little bit there, as well."