Kane Vincent-Young has been playing through the pain barrier, to help keep Colchester United in the promotion race.

Vincent-Young has been hampered by a broken toe, which forced him to miss the 1-0 win at MK Dons before Christmas, but he returned as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Stevenage on Boxing Day, before delivering a man-of-the-match performance in last Saturday’s goalless draw against stubborn Morecambe.

The 22-year-old will be hoping to up his game still further, to see the U’s back to winning ways at out-of-form Crawley Town tomorrow afternoon.

“It’s a weird one,” explained Vincent-Young.

“I haven’t been able to train a great deal, I am just managing the injury.

“But I want to be out there performing for the team, and keeping my place in the team, because if you go out of it, we have got players who will come in and take your spot.

“It (the toe) hurts, but when you are on the pitch and the adrenaline is flowing, you feel OK. When you sit down afterwards it is painful, but it is worth it,” added Vincent-Young.

Left-back Vincent Young is poised to make his 28th appearance of the season, in all competitions, at Crawley tomorrow. The Londoner has become a vital cog in the U’s set-up, and is in fact fast closing in on 100 league games for the Essex club – tomorrow will be his 94th league match.

“I want to be a part of this side, because we have had a good first half of this season,” continued Vincent-Young.

“I think it’s easy to lose sight of what we have done this year. We are in a great position (fourth), despite a couple of results not quite going our way (Stevenage and Morecambe).

“That’s testament to the standards that we have set ourselves. Every side has blips, and I am sure we will be back on it soon.

“I’m enjoying it. I feel like I am playing well and that my rhythm is coming back. But I also feel that I have room for improvement – I’m confident I will show that during the second half of the season.

“We have to move the ball quicker, that is the key, especially when you’re playing a team as resolute as Morecambe. We’ve got to definitely work on that.”