Colchester United are a good side and it’s a tough place to come to.

The post-match words of Jim Bentley, whose Morecambe side boast the second-best away record in League Two.

He is by no means the first manager in the division this season to utter admiring words about John McGreal and his players in the immediate aftermath of a match.

Indeed, Darren Ferguson was equally as complementary following his Doncaster Rovers side’s narrow win over Colchester last weekend.

But over the last few weeks, such flattery has acted only as consolation for the U’s following recent results.

Perhaps it is merely lip service on some occasions but if the respectful views of opposition coaches and players are anything to go by, they are a respected force in the fourth tier.

Which begs the question, just why exactly are Colchester currently lying nearer the relegation zone than the promotion places?

With no wins in their last seven league matches, some U’s fans are now nervously looking at the bottom of the table, rather than what is going on above them.

As McGreal has acknowledged, Colchester’s inability to take their opportunities when they come along has cost them over recent weeks.

So too have individual errors, which proved so damaging for them against Morecambe last weekend in front of a sub-3,000 crowd.

Such tendencies are more akin to a team fighting relegation than hunting promotion.

And if the U’s winless run goes on too much longer, it might be a battle against the drop rather than a surge for an immediate League One return that will be the prime focus.

Nevertheless, it is still only October and the more positive U’s fans whose glasses are more likely to be half full will point to the fact that their side are only three points off the play-off places.

And with key players chomping at the bit to return following injury, there is still plenty of potential for happier times this season, despite this disappointing run in form.

Indeed, this is still a relatively new-look squad, with a host of new players still settling in.

Opposition managers like Bentley and Ferguson continue to be gushing in the praise for Colchester.

But the reality is that unless they quickly recapture the winning feeling they experienced in the opening weeks of the season, such sweet talk will count for nothing.