FIACRE Kelleher insists he left Valley Parade with good memories as he makes a swift return with Colchester tomorrow.

Kelleher will be in the heart of the U’s defence against City looking to catch the eye of new manager Ben Garner.

The big Irishman played only 11 games for the Bantams after signing in the summer of 2021 - and just three times for Mark Hughes.

But he harbours no bad feelings about his former club ahead of the reunion.

“I had a good time at Bradford,” said Kelleher. “I didn’t play many games there but the staff and the players are really good and I enjoyed my time.

“But I won’t be focusing a whole lot on that tomorrow.

“We need to go there and try and get three points and try and get ourselves up that table again.

“I enjoyed my time there – I was treated really well there but sometimes for whatever reason, it just doesn’t work out.

“I didn’t get a whole lot of chances in my opinion but there’s so many good players there and it’s hard for me and the manager to make decisions.

“But they were good enough to let me come here and I left there with a lot of good memories.”

Garner will be at the game but intends to watch from the stands as Colchester’s head of recruitment Ross Embleton continues in the dug-out role.

Kelleher added: “It’s nice to have somebody come in and take over.

“It’s been a bit up in the air since Matt (Bloomfield) left unexpectedly so it’s good to have a bit of direction and hopefully we can get back to winning ways.

“I’ve watched his teams a few times and see that they like to play from the back.

“It’s a different style of play to what we’re currently doing, so I’m sure he’ll probably come in and chase something similar so I’m looking forward to it and hopefully, he’ll introduce a more exciting style of football that, hopefully, our fans will enjoy.

“This kind of steadies the ship and gives us a direction and hopefully we can get back on track.”

Kelleher has played eight times so far for Colchester - and scored in back-to-back games against Salford and Hartlepool.

“I came here to play and help the team as much as I can," he told the Colchester Gazette.

“It took a few games to get in and rightly so, because the lads were playing so well.

“I’ve tried to come in and show what I can do and so far anyway, it’s gone not too bad for me.

“The goals have helped to give me a boost and confidence as well as keeping a couple of clean sheets.

“I just want to get back to winning games really.”