Colchester United have worked so hard, to get themselves into the League Two play-off shake-up, that they don’t want all their hard work to unravel over the coming fixtures.

The U’s are ravaged by injuries, and will be for the foreseeable future, so they have to draw on all their resources to keep pushing for the top seven.

Weakened by a dozen injuries, and also Sean Murray’s suspension, John McGreal’s men will be keen to make up for their midweek home defeat by Crawley Town, with a positive result at relegation-haunted Accrington Stanley this afternoon.

“The boys have done an unbelievable job to get us into the position we are in, just outside the play-offs, following all the injuries we have had, not just now but earlier in the season as well,” insisted McGreal.

“We want to put right what happened on Tuesday, when we had an off-night. We are ready to go again.

“It’s nice to be looking towards the top seven, rather than looking over our shoulder towards the bottom, which has been the case in previous years.”

The U’s were beaten 2-1 at home by Accrington last September, towards the start of a miserable run of 13 league and cup games without a victory.

But McGreal is not using the ‘revenge’ motif as inspiration for his players today.

“It’s not about revenge,” said McGreal, whose U’s side are three points and three places adrift of the play-off zone.

“Accrington will be a different type of proposition, but it’s still a difficult game for us.

“From the bottom of the league to the top, there’s not much in it. It’s a tight league, as (second-from-bottom) Leyton Orient proved by winning at (second-placed) Plymouth in midweek.

“Accrington drew 4-4 at Mansfield on Tuesday. They conceded late on and, when you are down near the bottom, these sort of things do tend to go against you. But they might see it as a good point as well.

“It’s what we can put in place and what bodies we have available, that will count. We are not looking for revenge, we are just trying to get points out of each and every game.”

The U’s have two home matches next week, against Wycombe (Tuesday) and Hartlepool.