Former Colchester United first-team boss Tony Humes is the club’s new director of football and he will be assisted by Tony Ashby.

Colchester United chairman Robbie Cowling released the following statement this afternoon as the U’s shape their club football structure for the future.

“I am pleased to announce that Tony Humes will be rejoining Colchester United from Monday, March 7 as Director of Football. With the assistance of Tony Ashby, He will have the overall responsibility for all footballing matters at Colchester United.

“Since the introduction of Salary Capping at the start of the 2012 season, Colchester United has found it difficult to compete in League One.

“Having survived the three previous seasons, I was hopeful that this season would be more comfortable but, for a number of reasons, that has not been the case.

“Of course, we will be fighting for every one of the 39 points that are still up for grabs, but it is clear that I need to do even more if Colchester United is to be more competitive against clubs that enjoy much larger playing budgets.

“Many of the strategies that we have employed since the introduction of Salary Capping have worked well for the club, and this is demonstrated by those seasons when we have survived.

“However, like all of you, I yearn to thrive not just survive.

“Professional football is changing again next season with the money in the Premiership going up by another 70%, and the gap between the teams at the top and those lower down is getting much wider.

“However, we have to look for opportunities in every problem and make sure that we are moving with the times.

“To make sure that we are moving with the times and exploiting every opportunity that exists, I have decided to appoint a Director of Football (Tony Humes) and a Football Operations Manager (Tony Ashby) who can dedicate all of their time to making improvements to all footballing aspects of the club, while also protecting and maintaining the club’s philosophy and values.

“Tony Humes and Tony Ashby have helped Colchester United to build a first class Academy, which has been a major success for our club. It did not happen overnight and we can’t expect this new challenge to be accomplished either easily or instantly.”

Humes left Colchester as first-team boss in the wake of a 3-2 loss to bottom side Crewe back in November, the team had managed just one win in nine league games at the time.

The U’s were in 19th position when Humes left, they are now bottom of League One.