COLCHESTER United boss Aidy Boothroyd remains confident in the ability of his players despite their recent downturn in form.

COLCHESTER United boss Aidy Boothroyd remains confident in the ability of his players despite their recent downturn in form.

The U’s dropped out of the top six for only the second time this season this weekend after their winless streak extended to seven games with a 2-0 defeat at Exeter on Friday.

With many Colchester fans already unhappy at their manager’s direct brand of football, Boothroyd has come in for some heavy criticism following such a stark slump in results.

But while the U’s boss admits he is both frustrated and disappointed following an inexplicable change in fortunes, he remains confident his squad has what it takes to turn things around.

He said: “Everybody is worried we are going to slip away, but I’m lucky that I work with a group of people that I think can get out of this.

“I still think we have got goalscorers all over the pitch, the likes of Kevin Lisbie, Clive Platt, John-Joe O’Toole and David Prutton, it’s just that Exeter were very resolute.

“We’ve now got a great opportunity to bounce back quickly and that’s what my teams tend to do – bounce back.”

Colchester now host the league’s most in-form side – Millwall – on Easter Monday.