Colchester United

"It won't happen overnight and, whilst I realise that results on a Saturday are important, from an aesthetic point of view, I want my teams to go out and play.

"It will evolve, and it will take time, but the players are willing to learn and I believe they've all got that capacity to do so.

"I've seen progress in my team already," he said on Thursday morning.

But he has also seen teams adapt quickly to try and counteract the new look U's and knows that his side now have to show intelligence to again outwit the opposition.

Joe has quickly stamped his mark on his side's style of play, with a vibrant passing style likely to become his philosophy as manager in the coming years.
U's boss Joe Dunne is looking for his side to think smart when they take on unbeaten Stevenage at the Weston Homes Community Stadium on Saturday.

"If players are making mistakes when trying to do the right things, I don't mind, because I want my side to try and play this way.
"Other teams have started to close us down - our team have to know that they can play out from the back, but they need to understand there are other options, and that no ball is a bad ball if it has the right intentions. 

"I have to get my teams to think smart - I can't do that from the sidelines, I need players out there to make the decisions.

"In a short space of time, teams have adapted to play against us and that's a great compliment. Now we need to be able to react to that."

The match will see Joe reunited with friend Gary Smith, who he went out to visit whilst the now Stevenage boss was in charge of Colorado Rapids.

Joe confessed to learning plenty during his time in the US, and is now ready to go face to face with Smith this weekend.

He added: "I cant wait for it. This is another opportunity to see how far we can go, to see what we can do and these are the challenges I'm looking for my teams to take and overcome."