IT all felt a little doom and gloom for Colchester United on the long trek back from Cumbria on Saturday night.

That was hardly surprising given the nature of their drubbing at Carlisle United.

But now that the dust has settled on the 4-0 reverse, it’s perhaps important to put things into perspective ahead of a trip to play leaders MK Dons, this weekend.

After all, the U’s are enjoying their best league campaign for some time, as it approaches the midway point.

They sit in the automatic promotion places as they head into their final game before Christmas and have a four-point cushion between themselves and eighth-placed Tranmere Rovers, who are currently sitting just outside of the play-off places.

John McGreal’s side have not lost two league games in a row, this season.

They still have the joint fifth best defensive record in League Two and are also the third highest scorers, in the fourth tier.

To add to the positives, they have virtually a clean bill of health heading into the busy Christmas and New Year period, although they will have to check on defender Frankie Kent’s fitness following his ankle injury at Carlisle.

Colchester’s 4-0 defeat in Cumbria was as alarming as it was surprising.

It was also unexpected, particularly as it came at the hands of a mid-table side who had gone into the game on the back of a four-game winless run and had lost six of their previous seven matches.

Given the fact that Colchester had previously kept two successive clean sheets with the same back four and goalkeeper, the manner of the four goals they shipped at Brunton Park were certainly out of character.

They have been defensively sound this season under McGreal and had conceded more than two goals in a league game on two other previous occasions.

And at the other end, the Carlisle defeat was only the fourth occasion they have failed to find the net in League Two in the current campaign, with all four of their goal-less games coming away.

But as much as the U’s defeat was disappointing, it was nevertheless a rare occurrence under McGreal and his promotion-chasing side.

They more often than not have responded superbly to defeats this season and it goes without saying that a much better performance against MK Dons is required, this weekend.