Colchester United general manager Tim Waddington has defended the club’s decision to only open two stands for their FA Cup clash with Chesterfield on Saturday.

U’s supporters will only be able to watch the first-round clash with the Spireites in either the East Stand or West Stand, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Season-ticket holders’ seats in the East and West stands will not be held for this weekend’s tie, where a crowd of around 2,500 is expected.

Waddington told the Daily Gazette: “The East and West Stands each can accommodate around 3,000, so arguably we could have closed all but one of the stands but we want to make sure that it’s an enjoyable experience for those who are there.

“Ideally, we’d have all four stands open and have 10,000 people coming to watch but that’s not going to happen for this match.

“As soon as we open the stadium, there are certain things you have to provide such as stewarding and catering, so by opening one or two stands you can trim that back.

“We don’t anticipate any problems with Chesterfield this weekend but the good thing about the East Stand being open is that it allows us to segregate.”

Adult tickets for Colchester’s game with Chesterfield are priced at £16.50 in advance and £20 on the day.

“The prices for cup fixtures are agreed in advance with opposition clubs,” said Waddington.

“It’s lower than a league game but higher than an under-23 fixture.

“There will always be one or two knockers but we have to make sure that we’re not operating at a ridiculous loss and it’s a sensible price.”

Colchester’s last home game against Morecambe attracted a crowd of just 2,815, the lowest league attendance at the stadium since their League One game with Fleetwood there in January, 2016.

Gates at the Community Stadium have dipped over recent games but Waddington says the trend is something that is also affecting other clubs.

He added: “Until we start building a run of wins then we may well see that and we know we have to start delivering but the performances haven’t been too bad.

“We all want to be supporting a winning team and we’re so close to getting it right.

“When you look at the fixtures we’ve had, we were higher in the first two home games when people are traditionally away and slightly lower than we expected to be in the more recent games, so it’s been a bit topsy-turvy.

“I think it’s something that’s happening across the board – you only have to look at Ipswich Town for example to see that.

“But we’ve been fortunate in the last couple of years that we have managed to see a rise in attendances.

“Let’s hope that Saturday is the catalyst for us getting some results.

“The players are not going out in the league to lose and we’ve been so close to winning and last weekend at Plymouth Argyle was a cruel blow.”