FORMER Colchester United captain Magnus Okuonghae says he would love to see his old club make a return to League One.

The popular defender, who made more than 200 appearances for the U’s, played all of his football in the third tier during his six-year stay at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Okuonghae was involved in both promotion and relegation battles during his long stay at Colchester.

And with John McGreal’s side currently riding high in League Two and just five points off the top three, the ex-U’s skipper is hoping that they can go all the way.

Okuonghae told the Gazette: “I really hope that they can get back up and it would be great for everyone if that happened.

“League Two is a fantastic league but Colchester are a League One club, with the facilities, the ground, the training ground and the infrastructure that they have there, along with the ethos they have of bringing players through their academy.

“The likes of Sammie Szmodics and Frankie Kent were part of the crop that came through while I was still there and you could see straight away from the way they were training with the first team that they had a chance.

“I’ve kept a keen eye on their progress and I played a lot with Sammie – he seems to have been around for years now!

“It’s a tense time this time of year but it’s also an exciting time.

“In my first three years at Colchester, we were in a similar position going for the play-offs at the very least.

“In my first year at Colchester, we were looking for a long time at the automatic promotion spots but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s always good when there’s an exciting finish to the season and at that stage of the season, you need the character of players to really come through.

“It’s a case of trying to get over the line and get in and around it.

“We spent the last three years of my time at Colchester trying to stay in the league.

“But in a way, it’s the same mentality as when you’re trying to go for promotion – you need charisma and determination.”

Okuonghae was snapped up for Colchester by Paul Lambert from Dagenham and Redbridge in 2009 and the defender went onto play for several different managers, during his time in North Essex.

The 33-year-old was made captain by Aidy Boothroyd after Lambert’s departure but the following season, was sidelined for several months with an ankle injury.

“I’d be lying if I said being at Colchester wasn’t my most enjoyable time,” said Okuonghae, who left the U's in 2015 and is now playing for Dulwich Hamlet in National League South.

“I spent six years of my life at the football club and that’s a big chunk of my career.

“My first year at Colchester was really productive.

“But I think my second year there would have been my best, had I not got injured halfway through it.

“I was made captain within 12 weeks of my first year at Colchester by Aidy Boothroyd.

“That was an honour after being given that responsibility by someone who had managed in the Premier League.

“That was a big honour and captaining Colchester was one of the proudest achievements of my career.

“From a dressing room point of view, we were disappointed going from a team challenging for promotion to one fighting relegation.

“But looking back on it, it was an achievement to stay in League One for as long as we did, given the resources compared to other clubs in that division.

“There was a big turnover of players and it was an achievement to stay in League One, with the squads we had.

“But players come and go in football and during my time at Colchester, I played with some good players and played under some good managers.

“It was wrench to leave in the end but I still follow their fortunes.

“Once I’ve finished playing, I’ll be a Colchester supporter for sure.”

Okuonghae had been hoping to attend Colchester’s Former Players Association dinner, which takes place at the Community Stadium on Saturday night.

However, the former Luton Town man will be on match duty this weekend with Dulwich, who travel to play National League South leaders Torquay United.

He added: “I’m enjoying my football as much as ever.

“Dulwich Hamlet is a really good club; we get really good crowds at our level and I’m a South London boy, so there’s always friends and family around.”