Colchester United boss, John McGreal, was again left by his side’s inability to create chances and to finish them, following last night’s 0-0 draw at Morecambe.

Low on confidence, the U’s have now scored just one goal in their last five matches, and taken just two points from a possible 15, to all but end their slim chances of making the League Two play-offs.

“We came here and we set out our stall. It wasn’t wet and it wasn’t windy, so there are no complaints,” explained boss John McGreal.

“We knew what to expect from Morecambe, and I thought we combated that quiet well, limiting them to just long-range shots.

“We got up into their final third with some good play, but it’s just that little bit of inventiveness in and around their box that is missing.

“People try to express themselves in there and we’ve worked on one or two things, but it’s all about going cold at the key moment.

“It goes back to the weekend (1-0 home defeat to Yeovil) when we started off flying and then missed a penalty.

“These chances do not come around very often. Morecambe have been in some good form of late, but we did have a chance with the last kick of the game when we (Mikael Mandron) slashed at it.

“Generally, the opposition haven’t really hurt us in recent weeks. I know we have been on the wrong end of a few 1-0s, but we have looked solid as a unit. It’s just at that other end where we are lacking.

“We brought the subs on to try and win the game, and I thought that Courtney (Senior) came on and injected a little bit of individuality.

“It’s been the story of our season, if you look at it. We have been solid as a defensive unit, and had some good attacking play up to a certain point,” added McGreal.

Frankie Kent was in the initial starting line-up, but was withdrawn following the warm-up.

McGreal explained: “Frankie (Kent) hurt his knee against Mansfield, but got through last week. He hurt his knee in the last 10 minutes with a tackle (against Yeovil) but said that he felt fine.

“It was no bother at all, but in the warm-up the knee was a little bit unstable so it was wise to pull him out, especially as we had Easty (Tom Eastman) on the bench.

“It’s a little bit of a concern, so Tony (Flynn) is going to look after that,” added McGreal.