Colchester United boss, John McGreal, feels that his side are playing “some exceptional football,” going into tonight’s League Two tussle against visiting Coventry City.

The U’s have drawn too many games of late, to make much headway up the table, but at least just three defeats from their last 19 league matches has kept them within reach of the top seven.

A 2-0 win over Newport County, in their last home outing, has been sandwiched by frustrating draws on the road at Port Vale (2-2) and Carlisle United (1-1 last Saturday), to leave the Essex club five points adrift of the play-offs.

On both away-days, at Vale Park and Brunton Park, the U’s took the lead, only to be pegged back by equalising goals during the last quarter-of-an-hour.

“It feels positive at the moment. The performances from a really young team have been good,” insisted McGreal.

“In fact, some of our football was exceptional at Carlisle.

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“We had good legs right throughout the team, defending well and also getting bodies into their box.

“We will address the weekend result and go again on Tuesday.

“We will have the same approach, to try to entertain and to get the three points which are so huge in this division. We feel as though we threw two points away on Saturday, and we certainly did throw two away at Port Vale.

“But we are showing a good capacity to bounce back, and from draws not necessarily defeats.”

Since a 1-0 home loss at the hands of Carlisle in mid-October, the U’s have only suffered three league defeats in four months at the hands of Notts County, Cheltenham and Wycombe.

Tonight’s visitors, Coventry, are two places and three points better off than the U’s, although they have endured back-to-back defeats in their last two matches against Forest Green Rovers and Accrington Stanley.

Squads

COLCHESTER: Walker, Eastman, Prosser, Kent, Jackson, Comley, Stevenson, Wright, Senior, Mandron, Mandeville, Lapslie, Murray, Inniss, Ogedi-Uzowke, Szmodics, Kpweaka, Shodipo & Gilmartin.

COVENTRY: O’Brien, Willis, Kelly-Evans, McDonald, Stokes, Vincenti, Bayliss, Kelly, Shipley, Biamou, McNulty, Hyam, Haynes, Clarke-Harris, Barrett, Beavon, Reid, Maguire-Drew & Burge.

Referee: John Busby (Oxon)