Jack Payne said that he expected Swindon Town to push on and win promotion to League One after he left the club.

The 30-year-old is one of four Colchester United players who are making a return to The Nigel Eady County Ground in the FA Cup First Round this weekend, along with Rob Hunt, Ellis Iandolo, and Mandela Egbo.

Ahead of the game, Payne spoke to the Colchester Gazette about his time at Swindon and said he is surprised by the direction the club has gone in since his departure in 2022.

He said: “When I left, the club was in a fairly good place.

“We’d just got into the play-offs against Port Vale and everything was looking positive and I thought they might potentially go on and get promoted, in the next couple of years.

“With that team we had and the way the season went, I felt they were destined to get promoted but it didn’t happen.

“They’ve obviously struggled to do that but it’s a difficult league to get out of and it’s not quite gone for them.”

Payne, along his fellow former Town teammates who will make their returns this weekend, said he was pleased to see Town come out of the hat.

He said: “When the draw was made, there was excitement. I enjoyed my time there, so to go back and see some familiar faces will be nice. It’s a good draw and it’s usually a good atmosphere there.

“When a new manager comes in, there’s usually some sort of bounce and they had that last week against Gillingham; they were 1-0 down for a lot of the game and they equalised, late on.

“So, there’s no doubt they’ll be up for it and it should increase the excitement but we’ve just got to use that to our benefit and enjoy the atmosphere and come out on top.

Iandolo also spoke to club media ahead of the game and was hoping to be able to repeat the experience he had at Swindon with Colchester.

He said: “I have some good memories of the FA Cup, I obviously played against Man City during my time at Swindon.

“It is a chance for us teams in League One and League Two to go and get a draw against a bigger side and play in front of big crowds.

“As a kid, you grow up wanting to do well in it and it is a dream to see how far you can get.”