THE Messiah, in the eyes of many Colchester United supporters, returns to his old club tonight.It is only seven months since Phil Parkinson guided the U's to promotion to the Championship, for the first time in the club's history.

By Carl Marston

THE Messiah, in the eyes of many Colchester United supporters, returns to his old club tonight.

It is only seven months since Phil Parkinson guided the U's to promotion to the Championship, for the first time in the club's history.

There was dismay all around when Parkinson resigned as U's boss just weeks later, to take over the managerial reins at Hull City. His shock departure took the gloss off the promotion celebrations, but it did not detract from his achievements during the previous three years.

This evening, his old U's team take on his new Tigers team in a Layer Road showdown. And while the U's have adapted well to life in the Championship, and are currently 11th in the table, the Tigers are stuck in the relegation zone.

“I have a big job to do at Hull, and I'm working very hard to turn things around,” insisted Parkinson last night.

“I'm really looking forward to going back to Colchester. I have a lot of respect for all the people at the club.

“I was very grateful to Colchester United for giving me my first job in management. And I'm very proud of what I achieved at Layer Road.

“It should be a great night. I'm not surprised at all about how well Colchester are doing in the Championship. I left a lot of quality at the club.

“They have some very good players, and an excellent manager (Geraint Williams). But my only concern now is to get Hull out of the relegation zone,” added Parkinson.

The U's, with Parkinson's former assistant Williams at the helm, will be gunning for their eighth home victory on the trot.