Colchester United are on course to have one of their best-ever seasons at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

But with back-to-back away fixtures coming up, it might well be their form on their travels that actually determines whether or not they achieve their goal of promotion.

The U’s 2-1 triumph over Hartlepool United was impressively their tenth league win of the season at the Community Stadium – only League Two leaders Doncaster Rovers have won more matches on home territory.

And with their next four games at the venue coming against sides who currently sit within five points or less of them in the top nine of the table, how they fare in front of their own fans will undoubtedly be crucial to whether or not John McGreal’s injury-hit side can go the distance.

There is no question about the strength of Colchester’s home form.

But the U’s must also now demonstrate on the road that they are promotion candidates, despite their injury problems.

Colchester have shown this season that they are capable of achieving away success, winning at the likes of Stevenage, Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town.

But they have not won on the road in 2017 and have taken two points from a possible 12 on their travels, in their last four matches.

Colchester travel to Grimsby Town tomorrow night and with a near-full fixture programme in League Two, it is important that they now follow up their back-to-back home wins with another positive result in order to consolidate their place in the play-off positions.

The game is likely to come too soon for their leading scorer Kurtis Guthrie after he was stretchered off in the closing stages of their win over Hartlepool.

It is the latest in a long line of injury setbacks for the U’s, whose list of sidelined players would make a talented team in itself.

But boss McGreal rightly highlighted at the weekend, the team spirit his squad have shown amid their injury problems has been commendable.

They will need to show similar character in the coming weeks, both at home and away, if they are to achieve their goal.