COLCHESTER United boss John McGreal says he and his players will relish the challenge of facing top League Two opposition.

The U’s are enjoying a purple patch - unbeaten in seven matches, having won six of them, including their last four.

However, McGreal knows they face a major test of their credentials against high-flying Carlisle United at the Weston Homes Community Stadium tomorrow.

The Cumbrians’ own form has been inconsistent recently but they remain third in the table and breathing down the necks of leaders Doncaster and Plymouth.

“The players are up for the challenge and there’s a buzz about the place,” said McGreal, who has just been named League Two manager-of-the-month for December.

“It’s up to us to maintain it and keep it going.

“We can’t rest on our laurels and it’ll be a good test tomorrow, to see where we’re at, having come so far in a short space of time.

“We want to finish the season strongly and hopefully we can maintain that against an excellent Carlisle side.

“They’ve been up there all season.

“It’s a credit to Keith (Curle) and his team to only have two defeats in this league, which is a tough one.

“We’ll give Carlisle all the credit they deserve but it’s about us.

“We’ve got some players who have hit top form at this moment in time and we’re trying to look after them and try and get them prepared for what we know will be a tough test.

“Carlisle are probably like a benchmark for where we want to be this season.

“They’ve always been sitting in and around the top three all season and that’s where a lot of teams want to be.

“But we’re on a good run and hopefully we can continue that.

“When we went up to Carlisle, we felt we gave a good account of ourselves.

“We got undone by a couple of set-pieces but it was during the time when we were doing well but coming away without points.

“Now we know how to win different games of football, as tomorrow’s game will be.

“They have quality players throughout and they have a good striker who’s scoring goals on a regular basis.

“But we’re at home again and it’s up to us to try and take the game towards Carlisle and hopefully get the points.

“We’ve got ourselves in this position thanks to a lot of hard work.

“But we can’t change our focus and have to keep ticking along.”

Colchester can climb to fifth if they win tomorrow, with Luton Town and Cambridge United – both two points above them – in FA Cup action.

“It’s an added incentive,” admitted McGreal.

“Carlisle will be thinking the same and keen to pull away from other teams, but we’re only looking at ourselves.

“The players deserve tons of credit.

“They adapted from system to system, with different personnel coming in and injuries changing things.

“They’ve taken on board the instructions and also managed themselves well, over a tough Christmas period.”

Colchester will be aiming for their fourth straight home win tomorrow, having previously seen off Crewe, Notts County and Cheltenham at the Community Stadium.

And McGreal knows home form could be key in the second half of the season, with 12 home games left and ten away.

“We started well (at home) and then went through a dip, which included a really poor performance against Leyton Orient,” said the U’s boss.

“We needed to put that to the back of our minds and now we’ve won our last three.

“It’s certainly nice to be winning games for our fans.

“I’m delighted for them and we’re trying to entertain them as much as we can.

“We hope to do that much more in the second half of the season, too. Are we going to get more (people) in? I don’t know but if we keep winning games of football, you’d certainly like to think so.”