Colchester have announced the appointment of Matt Bloomfield as their new head coach.

Bloomfield heads to Essex having been first-team coach at Wycombe under Gareth Ainsworth.

The former Ipswich and Wycombe midfielder, who captained the Chairboys to promotion from League One, replaces Wayne Brown after he was sacked as manager earlier this month.

Bloomfield takes over a side fourth bottom of League Two, with just one win, and will be involved for Saturday’s trip to AFC Wimbledon.

Colchester sporting director Dmitri Halajko said on the club website: “We had a long and detailed recruitment process and we had an outstanding candidate in Matt.

“His values, football knowledge and expertise of ‘how to win’ really impressed us during the process and aligned with our vision.

“I welcome Matt to the club and can’t wait to start working with him.

“Matt will be involved in helping the team on Saturday to go and get three points away at AFC Wimbledon.”