Matt Bloomfield: Colchester United appoint Wycombe Wanderers coach as their new boss
- Published
Matt Bloomfield moved into coaching at Wycombe while still a player in the 2020-21 season
League Two strugglers Colchester United have appointed Matt Bloomfield as their new head coach, replacing Wayne Brown.
The 38-year-old has left his role as Wycombe's first-team coach to take his first managerial job with the U's.
It ends Bloomfield's near 19-year association with Wycombe, with the move coming seven months after he retired from playing on medical advice.
"It's the right opportunity for me at the right time. There is a good group of players here," he said.
"I expect my teams to play with an intensity and the players to come into training each day with a smile on their faces.
"I know we need to get results and we have a busy month coming up but there are 36 games to go and lots of football still to be played."
Bloomfield will be on the bench at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and added: "I don't believe in just sitting in the stand and watching, I want to be in the technical area getting involved."
The length of Bloomfield's contract has not been disclosed by the club.
Colchester sporting director Dmitri Halajko told BBC Essex: "We shortlisted 10 names and interviewed five. Matt's name came to us from a couple of recommendations within the game as one of the best up-and-coming coaches.
"We asked him to put together an application and he impressed at every level of the process."
Bloomfield succeeds 45-year-old Brown, who was sacked on 18 September following six defeats in 12 games to start the season - a run that included being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Premier League side Brentford.
The rookie manager takes over a U's side who are fourth from bottom in the League Two, having taken just six points from a possible 30 so far.
Bloomfield was club captain at Wycombe for almost a decade, and was part of four promotions with the club - rising from the fourth tier to the Championship with them.
He made 558 Wycombe appearances before the impact of a serious concussion forced him to retire.
Matt Bloomfield and Gareth Ainsworth celebrate Wycombe's win in the 2020 League One play-off final
Chairboys boss Gareth Ainsworth said: "It's a bittersweet day for me, saying goodbye to not just a fantastic coach and person, but also a very close friend who's been there alongside me for every step of the journey we've been on since I joined the club in 2009.
"But my over-riding emotion is pride for Blooms, earning this opportunity to prove what he can do as a manager and take all of his experiences from his time at Wycombe to turn Colchester around and get them up the league."
Wycombe chairman Rob Couhig added: "Matt was born to lead; he was our inspirational captain for many years and made a seamless transition into our coaching staff, where he has displayed his tactical expertise and his tremendous ability to mentor and develop younger players."
Bloomfield, who captained Wycombe to promotion to the Championship in 2020 and played 16 games in the second tier the following season, has a UEFA A Licence for coaching.
He has also done work in the media and in a BBC Sport column in 2014 wrote: "I am fascinated by the qualities needed to be a top coach and and those needed to be a successful manager."
And in a column the following year, he said: "The job of a manager in any business is to get his or her team believing in the path they are trying to lead their team down and how they are going to get there."
'A gamble for the U's and Bloomfield' - Analysis
BBC Essex sports editor Glenn Speller
This is a gamble for both Colchester United and Matt Bloomfield.
A number of experienced heads were linked with the job but Colchester have chosen to go with a rookie who will need to hit the ground running to win over a section of supporters already casting their doubts, as well as pulling the team away from trouble.
All managers have to start somewhere and while some may be underwhelmed, they might do well to reserve judgement and remember a certain person called Phil Parkinson who started his managerial career with the U's.