COLCHESTER United manager Ben Garner has gone on the charm offensive ahead of his first meeting with former club Swindon Town on Saturday.

Garner was appointed as Swindon boss prior to the 2021/22 campaign – a season in which the Robins enjoyed a remarkable time and almost won promotion into League One despite beginning the year with just a handful of first-team players.

But days after the penalty shoot-out defeat to Port Vale in May 2022, the 43-year-old coach controversially departed for Charlton Athletic. He lasted just six months in south-east London, though, before being sacked.

Now back in League Two with Colchester, Saturday’s opening-day fixture will be the first time Garner has faced his old team since that ill-timed exit.

Speaking to Jon Waldron of the Daily Gazette in Colchester, Garner reflected on his time at Town and how he sees the club now.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to it. I had a fantastic year at Swindon, as did some of my staff.

“I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the club, from the owner Clem Morfuni to the chief executive Rob Angus, all the way down through the club.

“It was a special season from where we started and the situation we found ourselves in.

“It would have been a fairytale to have got promoted, and we were within a whisker of that, really.

“I’m still certain we’d have won at Wembley had we got there, and we were a penalty kick away from doing so.

“I hold everyone there in really high regard, and apart from the two games against us this season, I hope they do really well.”

Ellis Iandolo, another of the former Town connections this weekend, was also chatting to Colchester’s media as part of the club’s pre-match press conference on Thursday.

The versatile defender spoke highly of his current boss and is hopeful of claiming victory against his former side on the opening day.

“The gaffer was a big part in my decision to come here,” said Iandolo, who made 52 appearances in his season under Garner at Swindon.

“I think he got the best out of me at Swindon in the years that I was there so that was a massive attraction, coming here.

“The sort of football he wants to play I think really suits the way I play and hopefully, we can get some good results and start well.

“The only thing in my head on Saturday is getting the three points for Colchester,” said Iandolo, who joined the U’s on a two-year contract, last month.

“It’s the first game of the season and regardless of who we play, it will be approached in the same way.

“The main thing is opening our account, and hopefully we can do that with three points and a good performance to take into the following week against Bradford.”