Give me a chance – so says Gillespie

STEVEN Gillespie is desperate for a chance to start banging in the goals for Colchester United again.

Frustrated striker Gillespie, who plundered nine goals in just 18 league outings for the U’s last season, is still waiting to be handed his first league start of the campaign.

Gillespie has generally made a favourable impression, whenever he has been summoned off the bench, but the 26-year-old has been the victim of the U’s formation (just one central striker) and the consistent form of target man Kayode Odejayi.

However, Gillespie is not getting itchy feet – he wants to stay and fight for his place.

“I want to be playing and scoring goals. So it’s frustration time to be sitting on the bench,” confessed Gillespie.

“I think the manager knows that I want to be playing. It’s up to me to try and change his mind whenever I get on.

“I haven’t really got going this season, having missed the last two games of pre-season. Since then, I’ve missed just the one match against Walsall, when I had a tight hamstring for a couple of days.

“But I’ve felt good in the last few days, scored a few goals in training and I’m feeling sharp. I just want to push on really.

“But I’m definitely still happy here. It was not long ago that I signed my new contract,” added Gillespie, who signed a new two-year deal during the summer.

Gillespie, a �400,000 signing from Cheltenham in 2008, has so far scored a couple of goals at Wycombe (Carling Cup) and Scunthorpe (league), both netted as a substitute.

He was certainly frustrated not to get on until the last 15 minutes of Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Yeovil, especially as he then had an 85th minute headed ‘goal’ ruled out for a foul on keeper Jed Steer.

Gillespie continued: “I was frustrated not to get on earlier. When their second goal went in, I’m thinking – ‘get me on.’

“But we had scored another couple of goals, so I can’t really complain. It’s tough because the lads are doing the business.”