Colchester United stalwart, Tom Eastman, insists that the U’s have a “point to prove” following back-to-back defeats to relegation-troubled Crewe and Barnet in their previous two outings.

The U’s resume competitive action tomorrow, away at fifth-placed Mansfield Town, after a fortnight’s break due to the postponement of last weekend’s fixture at Morecambe.

“It’s been a long wait since the Barnet game (1-0 defeat), which was a poor home performance,” admitted Eastman.

“We didn’t have a chance to bounce back quickly from that, and instead its been two weeks of hard training.

“But now we are all ready for the game this weekend, and gunning for the three points.

“I think we have a point to prove, because we should really have beaten the opposition in our last two games. Mansfield will be tough opposition. They are fifth in the table, but if we want to get into the play-offs, then we need to start winning these sort of games.

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“We were disappointed to miss out (on the play-offs) by just one point last season. Looking back, we dropped a couple of points at Morecambe (1-1 draw last April) which proved vital.

“We are looking to put it right this year, but it’s probably tougher than last season because there are a lot more teams in the mix, competing,” added Eastman.

The U’s are currently down in 12th spot, seven points adrift of the top seven with 11 fixtures remaining. But on the plus side, the squad is now relatively free from injuries.

In fact, an in-house match on Tuesday reflected the U’s current strength in depth.

“Both teams were full of first teamers. We were all going in for tackles and running hard,” explained Eastman. “Everyone was trying to impress the manager (John McGreal) to get into the team for Saturday.

“There were basically 22 players vying for 11 spots.

“We feel revitalised. We have a big squad now and there aren’t many injures. Everyone is fighting for each position. We have good players on the bench, and in the squad as a whole.

“Now we need to get back to winning ways,” added Eastman.

The Stags will be looking for revenge following a 2-0 defeat at the Weston Homes Community Stadium in October.