Aidy Boothroyd marked his return to football as Colchester United manager by claiming he would not change a second of his time as Watford boss.

Boothroyd was out of football for ten months following his departure from Watford but he was unveiled as the new Colchester manager on Tuesday and quickly announced the loan signing of Hornets’ out-of-favour midfielder John-Joe O’Toole until January.

The 38-year-old was a big success when he first took over at Watford and guided the club into the Premier League and to an FA Cup semi-final in his first two full seasons.

Following the club’s relegation to the Championship, he received criticism from many quarters for his side’s style of play and a number of signings but Boothroyd claims he would not change a “single second” of his time at Vicarage Road.

He said: “When I was at Watford, a couple of things happened. The first was that the past achievements of Watford influenced opinions. I had no problem with that. But when a little club like Watford punches above its weight, you get the big guys saying those things.

“You take it with a pinch of salt. For a while it got to me but I’m a coach and I’ve worked at West Brom and Norwich, both footballing institutions if you like.

“Some people will look for that sort of thing and you will usually be able to find it. It’s horses for courses. If you have a team that can play in a certain way, then that’s what you do. The best teams score a lot of goals and they keep a lot of clean sheets.

“I’ve experienced some enormous highs, like promotions and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals. I’ve also experienced some lows but you’re not rounded as a manager until you have experienced some adversity in your career.

“I would not change a single second. I’ve had time to reflect on what I have done, what has been good and what has been not so good.”

Boothroyd’s first signing as Colchester boss was O’Toole, who he brought into the Watford first team as a teenager.

O’Toole excelled under Boothroyd and scored seven goals in the first 11 games of last season but the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international has not played for the Hornets since February.

Boothroyd said: “I was lucky enough to work with John-Joe at Watford. Sometimes in a player’s career they can come to a little bit of a quiet spell.

“He’s not been playing at Watford and he has scored a lot of goals for them. I just felt it was the right time to bring him in to add to what we have got already.

“It’s a short-term signing but it’s something that I think will help us out very, very quickly.

“There are a lot of games to be played in the coming weeks and I’m looking forward to working with him again and I know what he can do and what he’s not so good at. It’s a case of getting the best out of him.”

O’Toole joined Sheffield United on loan towards the end of the year but his permanent switch to Bramall Lane fell through this summer.

The 20-year-old featured in a couple of pre-season friendlies but Malky Mackay has told the midfielder he is not currently part of his first-team plans.

O’Toole said: “It gives me a chance to get playing again and get back out on the pitch to do my thing.

“I know him [Boothroyd] well and I know what he expects from me so I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“Colchester have a fantastic stadium and I’m really impressed.

“It has been frustrating not playing but this will be a great place to get up and running again.”

Mackay added: “John-Joe is not in the first five or six midfielders at the moment so he needs to play to get match fit and Colchester United came in and I allowed him to do that. He needs to get match practice.

“We will look at it in January and see where we will be and where he is and then decide if he stays there or comes back.”