CARETAKER manager Joe Dunne insisted that Colchester United had “lost a good man,” following U’s boss John Ward’s departure yesterday.

Speaking to the media today, at the U’s training ground in Florence Park, Tiptree, Dunne looked forward to his spell in charge, and particularly this Saturday’s game against Hartlepool.

But the Irishman admitted that it had been a tough last day for the club.

“It’s been a very difficult last 24 hours,” insisted Dunne.

“It’s something we have experienced before, so we know how to handle it, but it’s never nice.

“It’s a shocking issue for everybody, because in my view we have lost a good man, in terms of what he has done in the background to the club, and what he’s done by giving us stability after what looked like a difficult time in the financial era that we are in.

“We would like to send John his best wishes for what he decides to do from here,” added Dunne.

Dunne, 39, was put in temporary charge of the U’s yesterday, by chairman Robbie Cowling, following Ward’s departure after more than two years at the Essex club – the U’s have failed to win any of their first nine games of this season.

Ex-U’s right-back Dunne, who was Ward’s assistant, is set to be caretaker boss for the next few games.

But if results are favourable, then he may well be offered the job full-time, not least because Cowling has expressed a preference for promoting from within the club.