Olamide Shodipo says he wants to finish the season with a bang for Colchester United.

The 20-year-old attacker has had to wait patiently for his first U’s start, after joining them on loan from Championship club QPR in January.

But Shodipo was named in John McGreal’s starting line-up for the first time in their 3-1 home loss to Notts County, last weekend.

And now the Republic of Ireland under-21 international, who is contracted to Rangers until the summer of 2019, is targeting a strong finish to the campaign before heading back to Loftus Road.

Shodipo told the Daily Gazette: “I want to start all of the remaining games for Colchester.

“I want to prove to the manager and to the club what I can do and keep my place in the team.

“At QPR, I’m planning to hit pre-season hard and get myself in the team there.

“A strong end to the season would be good here, to get my fitness and games up and just do well.

“I still want to try and help Colchester get promotion and while there’s still a chance, we’ll never stop believing.

“We’ve just got to go for it against Lincoln on Saturday and get the three points.”

Prior to starting his first Colchester game against Notts County, winger Shodipo had previously been a regular on their substitutes’ bench over recent weeks.

“It was good to have my first start for Colchester,” said the ex-Port Vale loanee, who had made four substitute appearances for McGreal’s side prior to earning his first start for the club against Notts County, last weekend.

“I had to be patient for it, as there were a lot of things that weren’t going my way.

“There’s been injuries and changes in shape of the team, so I’m glad I finally got my chance.

“I’ve had a lot of niggles and I’ve been out of favour as well, so it was just good to get a start and just play.

“I felt like I was positive on the ball and I tried to do the best I could, to help the team score.

“The first half was an enjoyable one to play in and I got a lot of joy, down my side.

“Drey Wright did really well with his goal and the first half was really positive.

“At half-time, we came in thinking that we could keep our lead and get another goal, to go on and win the game.

“But things didn’t turn out how we expected – or wanted - them to.

“Their first goal changed a lot of things and that’s where they got their momentum from.

“I thought we were the better side.

“But they were more clinical than us and took their chances well.”