Colchester United have not lost three league matches in a row since the autumn of 2016, and they don’t want a repeat performance this weekend.

The U’s have slipped a few places to 11th in the League Two table, three points adrift of the play-off zone, following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Cheltenham Town (4-1) and at Wycombe Wanderers (3-1).

They will be eager to stop the rot, and so avoid a hat-trick of losses, when out-of-sorts Grimsby Town visit this afternoon.

Despite this recent lean run, which stretches to four matches without a win and just two points collected from a possible 12, U’s boss John McGreal is not over-concerned.

“We’ve had a little wobble, if you like, but every team in this division has a wobble. It’s so tight, it’s not like the Premier League where teams get clear,” explained McGreal.

“It would be great to get a win to turn it around this weekend,

“But I don’t see it as a wobble anyway. Wycombe were above us in the league, and we’ve analysed that game. We didn’t take our early chances, so it’s just a case of maximising the key moments. Then things will change.

“If you score the first goal in this division, then more often than not you win the game or get points out of it, and I can’t see that changing.

“We have got to improve on our last two defeats, but performance-wise it was good apart from the second half against Cheltenham.”

The U’s have not endured three league defeats on the spin since losing to Plymouth (2-1 away), Leyton Orient (0-3 at home) and Yeovil (2-1 away) between October 29 and November 19, 2016.

Before that, their previous three-game losing streak in the league was under former manager Kevin Keen in early 2016, at the hands of Scunthorpe (3-0 away), Southend (3-0 away) and Swindon (1-4 at home) when the U’s were a League One club.

The good news for U’s fans is that, at present, the Essex club have received no firm offers for any of their players during the January transfer window, although Sammie Szmodics’ future remains in the balance.

“I don’t see any players going out at the moment,” said McGreal.

“We haven’t heard anything about the boys in the starting line-up or the squad – ie the Sammies and people like that – we haven’t heard anything at this moment in time.”