Colchester United manager, John McGreal, is hoping to help extend his side’s excellent run, as the U’s look to close in on the League Two play-off zone going into 2017.

The U’s have taken 13 points from a possible 15, in their last five matches, following wins at Cheltenham and Luton, home victories over Crewe and Notts County, and a goalless draw at Mansfield.

Now the 10th-placed U’s will be looking to make further inroads into a four-point gap, between themselves and the top seven, when they take on Stevenage at Broadhall Way this afternoon, and then entertain struggling Cheltenham just 48 hours later on Monday.

“We will try and keep it going,” insisted McGreal.

“We have two tough games in the space of three days, so we have tried to look after the boys this week.

“It was horrible at times, during that long winless run (lasting 13 games), but we always stuck to our beliefs, and it just so happens that it has clicked over the last month.

“We haven’t done that much differently, we’ve just worked that bit harder in training and we’ve also got that bit of luck.

“Now we hope to keep it going,” added McGreal.

The U’s boss looks set to name an unchanged side, for the sixth game running, at Stevenage today (kick-off 3pm).

Fielding a settled side has coincided with the U’s recent unbeaten run, although McGreal might have to tinker with his starting line-up over the long holiday weekend, due to the quickfire back-to-back games.

“I might possibly utilise my squad more, but I haven’t really got enough experience yet to start talking about two games at once,” continued McGreal.

“Stevenage, like us, have been on a good run, and it was only our win (at Luton on Boxing Day) that finally took us above them.

“We have got to be on our guard and on our mettle, because they have some dangerous attacking players,” added McGreal.