COLCHESTER United have found it difficult to live with the top teams in the division, but they have a chance to take advantage of one of the strugglers, Bournemouth, this evening.

COLCHESTER United have found it difficult to live with the top teams in the division, but they have a chance to take advantage of one of the strugglers, Bournemouth, this evening.

The U’s have suffered defeat at the hands of four of the top five clubs already this season, in the shape of Charlton, Huddersfield, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.

And they entertain the fifth of this leading quintet, Notts County, this weekend.

But John Ward’s men have not lost to anyone outside the top five, an encouraging statistic, and they will be looking cash in against relegation-threatened Bournemouth.

“The top six or seven teams are very strong, even going down to Preston (in ninth). We want to hang on to them, which means getting some results at home,” insisted Ward last night.

“The lads are still a bit upset and angry with their performance at Sheffield Wednesday (2-0 defeat), and hopefully we can turn that into a positive.

“But we must be careful not to go too gung-ho. We have to think about what we are doing. We have to be considered in our approach,” added Ward.

Centre-half Magnus Okuonghae will return to the U’s side, after serving a one-match suspension at Hillsborough. He is set to partner Matt Heath, who came through Saturday’s game unscathed after a recent ankle injury.

However, defender Pat Baldwin will continue to miss out, due to a fractured toe.

Ward confirmed: “Pat will be out for about six weeks with the injury.

“He’s already been out for three, so we are loooking at three more weeks.”