Colchester boss Wayne Brown says he’s looking forward to pitting his wits against someone of Paul Simpson’s stature in the game.

The Essex club provide Carlisle United with their first away opponents of the new season.

And U’s boss Brown says he is coming up against a top operator in Cumbrians boss Simpson.

“He has done a lot of work and a lot of business in the summer,” Brown said of his opposite number.

“He’s a very, very experienced and knowledgeable manager that’s achieved a lot in his career.

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“It’s great pitting your wits against somebody like that, who has a lot of respect in the game, and who has been at a lot of clubs in the league and international as well.

“I’m sure that he’ll be no different to us. He’ll be trying to assess his personnel, his shapes, his systems and they’ll try and go about their business to ultimately win the game of football, just like we will.”

Colchester lost their opening game of the season 3-2 at Northampton Town last weekend.

They could include new goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara for the first time after the ex-Manchester United man signed for the club this week.

He has joined Colchester after the recent departure of ex-Carlisle keeper Shamal George to Livingston.

Brown said: “We’ve identified Kieran as somebody that’s going to be a real key figure for us.

“We lost Sham ten days ago and we’ve acted reasonably quickly.

“We’re happy to have him on board and he’ll be a great addition with the experience that he’s got and the levels that he’s played at – he can only be a benefit to us.”

Brown is hoping for better fortunes for his side on home soil after their late setback at Northampton.

“It’s about reflecting, debriefing and moving on swiftly,” he said. “We’ve had a whole week to prepare for Carlisle which is good.

“It has given us that little bit of extra time which is beneficial.

“Carlisle is going to be a little bit of a different animal to Northampton, as will Ipswich [in the Carabao Cup] on Tuesday.

“They’re all different, they all need to be taken in isolation and ultimately it’s our job to prepare the lads in the best way that we can.

“It’s about us coming up with a plan of action, a blueprint for the game and going out there and executing it to the best of our ability, just like we tried to do against Northampton.”

Colchester are without Emyr Hughes and Tommy Smith to ankle and foot injuries respectively.