Joe Dunne has urged his Colchester United players to transfer their winning mentality into their forthcoming back-to-back home matches.

The U’s play host to struggling Stevenage at the Weston Homes Community Stadium on Boxing Day (kick-off 3pm).

And they quickly follow that up with a home clash against another relegation-threatened side - Crewe Alexandra - on Sunday.

The last time Colchester played in front of their own fans, it was a day to forget after they were thrashed 4-0 by Notts County.

But they bounced back in style from that mauling with a 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic - and boss Dunne wants to see more of the same over the festive period.

Dunne said: “We have to carry this mentality into the next two games.

“They are two home games that people are probably expecting us to win but we’ve seen that it doesn’t always work like that.

“What we have to do is turn this mentality into a home mentality.

“We have to feel that we can play at home and do these types of things at home.

“What the Oldham game has shown is that we’re capable and I believe there will be a lot more of it to come.

“We’re all striving to do it on a consistent basis.”

Colchester’s game against Stevenage on Boxing Day begins a sequence of three games in the space of six days for Dunne’s side.

The festive period is always a hectic period and Dunne admits he is not a fan of having so many games, in such a short space of time.

“It’ll be a case of maintenance and I’ve always thought that this fixture list is crazy,” said Dunne, who will hold another light training session today ahead of the Stevenage clash.

“Having become a manager, I think it’s unnecessary and there should be a break, in my opinion.

“It puts a massive strain on teams at this stage of the season.

“We have to keep players fit and keep them fresh.”

For a full preview of the U's game with Stevenage, see Tuesday's Daily Gazette.