MICHAEL Rose had made just one cameo appearance, as a late substitute against Preston, since being dropped after the 6-1 thrashing by Stevenage on Boxing Day.

But Rose returned with relish at Exeter on Saturday, to deliver a man-of-the-match performance in a 1-1 draw.

And yet he was still quick to praise his rival full-back John White, the man he replaced, during post-match interviews.

Rose explained: “I’ve not played since Boxing Day, when I was ill against Stevenage (club record 6-1 home defeat).

“It’s hindsight saying that I shouldn’t have played against Stevenage, because I was ill, but if I hadn’t have played we could have won and I’d have lost my place anyway!

“Johnny White has been doing a great job at left back. I would put him there as being our best defender. He’s done really well, even though he is not left-footed.

“But hopefully I can now finish the season strongly and show the Colchester fans what I came here for.

“It’s been a long wait, and I have not really got going this year, to be honest. I will probably write this one off, though I want to put a run together for the rest of the season,” added Rose.

The 29-year-old defender was certainly disappointed that the U’s could not hang on to their 1-0 lead at Exeter, after he had set up Karl Duguid for the opener.

Referring to Duguid’s goal, Rose continued: “I picked the ball up, and there was quite a bit of space in front of me so I ran forward and Doogs (Duguid) made a great run.

“I just slipped him in and Doogs did the rest.

“We had enough chances to win the game. The gaffer summed it up – we didn’t do enough in the final third.”