MARCUS Bean has spent large chunks of his career watching the ball sail over his head.

But that will not be the case during the Joe Dunne era at Colchester United. The midfielder will have the ball at his feet, and that suits him just fine.

Ex-Brentford stalwart Bean, who often adapted to a more direct style of play at Griffin Park, is enjoying the new freedom to express himself under the U’s new regime.

To date, the U’s have won two and lost two under Dunne, but the emphasis has been the same in all four matches – playing with intensity, and passing to feet, from the back to the front via the midfield.

“It feels great to play in,” enthused Bean, in the build-up to tomorrow’s home game against Stevenage.

“I’ve been in teams where the ball keeps going over your head, when you’ve been in midfield. It’s been like a tennis match.

“But now I get a lot more touches of the ball, and that’s how I’ve grown up to play – that’s what I always wanted to do, from those early days of playing down the local park.

“There’s no confusion. We all know how Joe wants to play. We all know our jobs. He wants to play football the right way, in my opinion. He’s got his philosophy and he sticks with it, which is a credit to him.

“I wouldn’t say it is idealistic. I just think it’s the way football is going, if you want to be very successful.

“If you’ve got the ball you’ve got more chance of scoring, that’s the way he sees football.

“I’m comfortable with this style of play,” added Bean, who has started every league game since his summer switch from Brentford.