Gavin Massey insists Colchester United have nothing to lose in their bid to launch another unlikely League One escape act.

The U’s now lie ten points shy of safety with six games remaining, following midweek wins for relegation rivals Oldham Athletic and Fleetwood Town.

Colchester head to fellow strugglers Blackpool this weekend desperate for precious points, in their quest to keep their slim survival hopes alive.

But Massey, who played his part in helping the U’s stay in the third tier in each of the last three seasons, says they are in no doubt about what they must to do – starting at Bloomfield Road.

Massey said: “We’ve got nothing to lose and we have to go for it.

“We know what we want to achieve and there are very few games left to do that.

“I haven’t really looked at the number of games that we need to win.

“All I know that is if we’re playing Blackpool and the Crewe Alexandra game very soon and they’re massive games to look forward to.

“Crewe is still a few games away but they’re still two massive games.

“Blackpool will be looking over their shoulder and hopefully past experiences can hold us in good stead and who knows what could happen.

“We were probably in better form last year, around this stage of the season.

“But we’ve just recently got back-to-back wins and we’re looking forward to Saturday – who knows after that what could happen.”

Massey has been in good form of late and scored Colchester’s winner in their 1-0 victory at Coventry City, last week.

The 23-year-old says he wants to add to his goal tally of four, between now and the end of the campaign.

Massey added: “I know that I’ve got an important role to play on the pitch and with my past experiences, I can help people along and go for it.

“I finished last season well and I started this season well but I had an injury and a bit of a lack of confidence, so it hasn’t been the greatest mid-part of the season.

“That’s all forgotten about to be fair and it’s all about the team now and I want to score as many goals and get as many assists as possible and put in performances like I have done of late.”

Colchester’s under-21s host Watford at Florence Park this afternoon, kick-off 1pm.