John McGreal feels his Colchester United side are looking to tough to beat after their 1-0 win over Lincoln City tonight extended their unbeaten run to six matches in League Two.

A Sammie Szmodics goal in the opening minutes at the Weston Homes Community Stadium was enough to give the U's a vital three points and draw them to within two points of the play-off places.

Colchester have now not conceded in more than five and a half hours of football and have lost only one of their last ten league games, to the delight of McGreal.

He said: “The boys put in a hell of a shift and I thought every one of them was excellent.

“After a poor start to the season, they’ve regrouped and look a hard team to beat but there’s still room for progress.

“We made a couple of changes again and that’s been a really potent thing for us, having bodies on the bench that want to play.

“We brought Drey Wright in tonight and I thought he was very, very good.

“We were tempted to go with a 4-3-3 but we went with a little bit of pace in areas might have created a little bit more for us and when we had to keep possession, we did.

“We were under the cosh and they get a lot of pressure on the ball.

“We had to be brave and I thought that we stood up to the test.

“We had five of our own academy lads out there tonight, which was terrific for the club."

Drey Wright was one of two changes for Colchester tonight after coming into the starting line-up, along with Doug Loft.

The attacker was outstanding and played his part in Szmodics' all-important winning goal.

“Drey can play anywhere for us and he’s adaptable," added McGreal.

“You know you can put him in there and get a performance."

Colchester will check on Loft's shoulder injury which forced him off in the first half of the 1-0 win over the Imps.