Colchester United boss Tony Humes says it is hard to identify a specific points tally needed for League One survival.

The U's are currently three points adrift of safety, having picked up 28 points from their first 28 games.

Last season, 48 points were needed to ensure safety, while in the 2012-13 campaign the U's finished fifth from bottom on 51 points.

It is tight in the bottom half of League One, with ten points separating the bottom 12 teams.

Colchester have 18 games remaining to secure their status in the third tier for another season.

But ahead of tomorrow night's trip to play Sheffield United, boss Humes says that the U's are not looking too far ahead.

Humes said: “It’s difficult to put a target on it because everybody is capable of winning games.

“You just have to make sure that you’re accumulating points as much as you can.

“We’re not looking too far ahead - we have to do it game by game and look at what we have coming up.

“People might look at our fixtures in February and think we might not get too many points but we’re going into it very positively.

“We’re thinking we can give anybody a game if we do the right things at the right time and take our chances.

“The players have to show the same work ethic as they have over the last few months."

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