Boss wants to take on the high-fliers.
Colchester United Manager, Joe Dunne insists he hasn’t let recent defeats get him or his team down and that they're ready to come back fighting for their next match; Leyton Orient away.
The U's last two matches have seen them drop two positions in the table and the next few matches could shape the task ahead with them being only three points away from a comfortable position in the top-middle of the league and three points away from being in the relegation zone.
Dunne says his team are still in good spirits and he is concentrating on the positives from Saturday and Tuesday’s matches: "We had a really good performance last Saturday with and without the ball.
"The other evening when we didn’t play well, we still managed to show our characteristics and we battled away until the end of the night. That makes me very proud of my team."
"The other evening when we didn’t play well, we still managed to show our characteristics and we battled away until the end of the night. That makes me very proud of my team."
The team’s performance fell short against Sheffield United's strong back four in the 87th minute of the match when a penalty was given for a foul on Sheffield’s Ben Davies.
Joe added: "Although the other evening, I felt with the ball was disappointing, overall, I think we worked very hard against what is a very good team on very good form at the moment, the game came down to a 87th minute penalty. That’s the encouraging part.
"We changed our shape, we changed our personnel. We put attackers on the team to enable goal scoring opportunities. Ironically we didn’t have any goal scoring opportunities; which is something that hasn’t happened a lot.
"Everybody makes mistakes, people miss penalties, people give away penalties, but we don’t dwell on it and I think it’s good to see Freddie try to get back and help his teammates."
The Irishman also spoke about the absence of Sanchez Watt who was suspended after being given a red card for violent conduct at the Colchester v Swindon match on Valentine's Day. Watt will still be suspended for the upcoming match with Orient.
"We’ve got Sanchez coming back next week after suspension. Creativity was at a minimum the other night, generally we’ve been okay.
"He added that quality to the team, for sure and he’s proved that over recent weeks playing for the team, scoring goals and creating chances. So we look forward to having him back in the squad," Joe admitted.
Despite some recent bad luck, and the expected absences of Sanchez and Alex Gilbey, Joe and his team aren’t shying away from their upcoming match with the current top runner in the league.
He said: "That’s the kind of challenge that we want I suppose, I’d rather it that way. In days gone by we’ve actually responded well against the better teams.
"Their position in the table speaks volumes for Orient. They’ve pushed themselves into a position of authority this year and the very best of luck to them but we’re going there to win Saturday.
"A top half finish is still up for grabs we’re only three points from a positive position in the table. Also three points from a position we don’t want to be in. But there’s still plenty of football left and we’ve got to stay positive for the players because generally the players are doing very well.
"We like playing the top teams. We might come up short every now and again but we turn up for those games, and we will on Saturday as well, with great belief in ourselves. If we put our minds to it, we can win."