Colchester sign Woodyard following York exit

Alex Woodyard made 30 National League appearances for York City last season

Colchester United have made their eighth summer signing by bringing in experienced defender Adam Woodyard on a one-year contract following his exit from National League side York City.

Woodyard, 31, who began his career with Essex rivals Southend United, has played for the Cowley brothers three times before - first in non-league football at Concord Rangers and Braintree Town, then Lincoln City.

He then moved on to Peterborough United, Tranmere Rovers and AFC Wimbledon before dropping back into non-league with York City last season.

"Alex is a boy that we picked up when he had just left Southend at Concord Rangers. And he did brilliantly for us," boss Danny Cowley told BBC Radio Essex.

"You can see the strategy behind all of our signings. To sign boys that have had success in Essex before, that maybe have roots in Essex and the local area, is so important. Some that we've worked with before.

"We were a little bit short of personality last year and we wanted to try to add a little bit more character to the group and a little bit more experience to help some of the younger players.

"We've got some brilliant young players here. But I said this before, it takes a village to develop one young player. So to have the right support around them, not just off the pitch, but also on the pitch, is really important."

When Woodyard first came in for non-league Concord, it was to take the place of Nicky Cowley, now the U's assistant manager.

"Nicky always says he retired him because Nicky's knees were coming to the end," Cowley added.

"He was maybe 33 or 34, playing in the middle of midfield and he had no cartilage in one of them and Alex came along.

"Nicky said 'I did pre-season and I looked at him and thought oh you're a lot better than me. I might just take a backward step here.'

"Alex ended up being the first Concord Rangers player to play for England C.

"We then went to Braintree, he came with us, and did brilliantly in that season, we finished third in the National League.

"We then took him to Lincoln and we obviously won the league and had the FA Cup run. And then in the next season we won the EFL Trophy and finished in the play-offs.

"At that stage he had so much interest and it was just probably the right time for him to move on and we sold him to Peterborough and now he's back with us.

"I like Alex with a point to prove. He came to me at Concord with a point to prove and he comes back here with a point to prove. He's another one with a huge personality, a great energy, a great enthusiasm for football but also for winning. He's a fighter and I like to have enough fighters in my team."

Danny Cowley was talking to BBC Radio Essex's Glenn Speller