JOHN McGreal admits Colchester United had missed Tom Lapslie's combative qualities prior to his return to the starting line-up.

Lapslie was back in the U's side after a five-match absence to help them secure a 1-1 draw at Mansfield Town, last weekend.

The 22-year-old had found himself out of favour for Colchester over recent weeks, with the likes of Brandon Comley and Sean Murray preferred ahead of him.

He had been on the bench for five matches, prior to returning as skipper at Field Mill.

But he was outstanding against the Stags and played his part in their equaliser, scored by midfield partner Comley.

Lapslie told the Daily Gazette: “I thought he was terrific – he’s been out for a month but came back in and showed his qualities and all of the running that he puts in, in that midfield area.

“He’s come back in as captain with Luke (Prosser) being on the bench and he’s not going to shirk out of any challenges.

“When you think about the build-up to our goal, it’s something we’ve missed but there’s competition there."

Lapslie was one of five players to return to Colchester's starting line-up at Mansfield, with Brennan Dickenson, Drey Wright, Kurtis Guthrie and Sammie Szmodics also back in the fold.

“It’s one where we’ve had to address things and I think that showed in the performance, which was excellent," said McGreal.

“Teams are beating each other up and down this league, whether you’re at the top or the bottom.

“It’s a tough league.

“I don’t think it was any coincidence that we’ve got those good players who are coming back who are giving us that competition."

Colchester will be aiming to build on their point at Mansfield when they host Yeovil Town, at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

The U's lie six points off the League Two play-off places, with ten games remaining.

Colchester were back by more than 150 fans at Mansfield and boss McGreal says he would love to see similar support, on Saturday.

McGreal added: “The fans were in good voice throughout (at Mansfield) and we appreciate their effort.

"We now need to try and get that from our home fans, on Saturday.

“We can only do that by performing as we did (at Mansfield); put in a good start and get the fans right behind us against Yeovil, because we want to do things this season."