AIDY Boothroyd says he would never sacrifice results for a more entertaining brand of football.The 38-year-old has lost just one game in 14 since taking over as Colchester United manager, but amazingly a section of fans have been left seemingly disgruntled with the style of play that has propelled them to third in League One.

Stuart Watson

AIDY Boothroyd says he would never sacrifice results for a more entertaining brand of football.

The 38-year-old has lost just one game in 14 since taking over as Colchester United manager, but amazingly a section of fans have been left seemingly disgruntled with the style of play that has propelled them to third in League One.

Boothroyd's side - built around tall, strong players - have ground out points when they've needed to with an often direct approach.

And the ambitious U's boss has warned fans that it will continue to not always be pretty.

“I think it's important for our fans to be patient and understand this is a marathon,” said Boothroyd. “The best teams for me are the ones that don't play very well and still win.

“In an ideal world we would win 5-0 every week, but over the course of the season it doesn't work like that.

“There are lots of intellectual derelicts professing to play a wonderful continental style passing game, but we are all different.

“You are always striving for that perfect performance, but you also have to accept that it isn't always going to happen. Sometimes we all forget that there's a team of players and staff trying to stop you doing that.

“Every team that is successful has a balance of style and efficiency. Those that are more stylish tend to finish midtable, while those that are more efficient tend to have more success but are labelled ugly.”

Asked if he understood some of the fans' frustrations, Boothroyd added: “I'm the same; when I sit down and watch a football match when I'm not working I think I know better than some people, but that's why it's such a great game - everybody has got an opinion.

“Trust me; we want to give them something to be proud about. The fans will be here a lot longer than me because they are the only real ever present at a football club. I want them to be able to look back and say I remember the 2009/10 season.

“Would I change my style? Absolutely, if it meant we could win.

“I want to win every game and I'm delighted that, for two weeks, we are in third position - but I would rather it was second or first.

“The encouraging thing for me has been that in different parts of the 14 games I've had, I've seen some really good starts, middles and ends to games from my team. It's now a case of putting that all together, but you are never going to have all of the play.”

- For live Colchester match update, follow the EADT's U's reporter here: http://twitter.com/Stuart_Watson.