HAVING been born in Hastings, Dean Hammond probably knows all about battles.

So his presence in Colchester United's starting line-up over the club's last two matches might provide his new club with the extra ammunition needed to defy the odds and avoid the dreaded drop.

Indeed, Hammond is no stranger to fighting against relegation.

As a Brighton and Hove Albion player, he played a starring role in helping to ensure that the Seagulls remained in the Coca-Cola Championship in 2005.

But he experienced contrasting emotions the following season, with the south coast club dropping out of the Championship and down to League One, where they remain.

It was Sheffield Wednesday who hit the final nail in the Seagulls' coffin, with a 2-0 win.

The visit of the struggling Owls to Layer Road tonight to play the U's in a key basement battle might evoke some unhappy memories for Hammond, who was sent-off in that Brighton defeat.

Nevertheless, having now broken into the team following his £250,000 transfer deadline move to Layer Road, the hard-working midfielder is determined to channel his character-building experiences at the lower end of the league table in a positive way.

"I'd like to think that my experiences at Brighton will help us between now and the end of the season," said Hammond, who turned 25 last Friday.

"I've been in the situation before where I've been in relegation battles when we've stayed up once and went down once.

"It's not nice going down.

"But there are a lot of leaders within the team and we all believe in ourselves.

"We have to forget about what has happened before and it's another chance to get three points.

"If we're going to get out of this situation everyone has to work for one another, and that's been the case. We're still in there fighting."