COLCHESTER United boss Paul Lambert has confirmed that defender Paul Reid is set be sidelined for the rest of the season.

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United boss Paul Lambert has confirmed that defender Paul Reid is set be sidelined for the rest of the season.

The results of a scan, following Reid's knee injury sustained during last week's 2-2 draw at Huddersfield, has confirmed the U's worst fears.

While centre-half Reid begins his long rehabilitation, Pat Baldwin and Chris Coyne will be looking to strike up a good partnership at the back during the last two months of the season.

And the signs are good, following Saturday's clean-sheet in a 1-0 win at Oldham.

Lambert revealed: “Paul Reid's knee cap had been giving us a bit of cause for concern, and the results of the scan suggest that he will be out for the rest of the season.

“But I thought that Chris Coyne and Pat Baldwin were fantastic this afternoon. Chris had not played for a while and he was running on empty for the last 20 minutes.

“In fact I thought the whole back four were great, and young Mark Cousins made a couple of good saves in the second half.

“I don't think that 4-0 would have flattered us at half-time. We were fantastic! We should have been out of sight, but in the second half it was a different type of performance. We had to stay strong because we knew that Oldham would come at us.

“And what a finish from Clive

Platt! He took his goal superbly.

Both he and Steven Gillespie were excellent for us up front. Steven had to come off with cramp in the second half, but he offered us something different.

“I decided to play him from the start because I felt that he needed a game. There was no point in him just playing stop-start, especially as he had been on the bench for the last four games.

“He was excellent when he came on at Huddersfield and he offered us something different again today.

“A couple of other results have gone our way, so we are still looking up at the play-offs,” added Lambert.

Oldham boss John Sheridan, who was angry with his own team's performance, kept his players in the dressing room long after the final whistle.

Sheridan blasted: “We were a shambles. The first half was shocking and I apologise to the fans again.

“I am stuck for words. I don't know who I was watching in the first half because they were the same players who got results against Millwall (3-2) and Leeds (1-1).”