Colchester United chairman Robbie Cowling on home crowds

And the U's chairman has criticised the 'ill-informed messages' that he feels are designed to undermine the club's hard work in testing times.

Colchester's crowds for games at the JobServe Community Stadium have been disappointing so far this season, with just 2,068 attending their home clash with Bristol Rovers, on Tuesday night.

The U's have averaged 2,473 for their first six home league games this season and Mr Cowling admits attendances are not where we would like them to be.

However, in a written statement he has outlined the factors that have contributed to the low attendances, so far.

Writing on the club's website www.cu-fc.com, he said: "To put things into perspective I have compared the start of this season to that of the 2018-19 season which was the last full season before the pandemic.

"For the 2018-19 season we sold a total of 1,171 season tickets whereas this season we have sold a total of 1,075. That’s 8% down which I think is a great effort by our fans considering we are still in the middle of a pandemic.

"For the first 6 home league games of that season we averaged 3,253 attendees and for this the first 6 home league games this season we have averaged 2,473. That’s a massive 24% down and on the surface it looks very alarming.

"However, the following variables must be taken into account:

"Under our COVID protocols we allow our season ticket holders to decline matches and that accounts for a total loss of 408 attendees.

"It’s an average of 68 fans a game but is increasing game by game as the infection rates increase.

"Only 52 declined their Northampton tickets whereas 88 declined them for the Bristol Rovers game.

"In the 2018-19 season there was no such option and season ticket holders that did not attend would have been counted.

"I have been very strict this season with complimentary tickets.

"For the first 6 games of the 2018-19 season we gave away an average of 245 complimentary tickets per game and that has been dramatically reduced to just over 100 a game.

"The midweek games always have the lowest attendances but these have been the worse hit.

"However, iFollow offers a streaming option for the midweek games and for the 2 games we have played this season we sold 229 and 225 iFollow passes respectively.

"We know that multiple fans watch single iFollow streams so that probably accounts for at least 400 viewers at each of these games.

"On the plus side we have also sold an additional 1,699 iFollow passes to Papa John matches and the away games that have been played on a Friday.

"For this season I had hoped for no worse than a 20% reduction in ticket revenue and with so much uncertainty I made financial arrangements to cope if we received no match-day revenue whatsoever.

"Therefore, with the excellent attendances at the pre-season friendlies and the additional revenue from the streamed games we are well ahead of where we hoped we would be.

"Of course we would like to see even more fans at the games but we also understand that not everyone is comfortable coming to games at the moment and we look forward to seeing you again when you do."

Colchester have also come under fire from some fans for their overall matchday experience, with the lack of a PA system over the last two home games along with the absence of a fan zone being cited by supporters.

Cowling has conceded that the club do not have all of the aspects they would like it to on matchdays, at the JobServe Community Stadium.

But the U's chairman says the situation is 'nowhere near as bad as is being portrayed by fans.'

He said: "Like all clubs we are having to strip back what we can provide.

"Having been locked down for nearly 18 months we have had to recruit and train a lot of new staff and at a time when it is really hard to get hospitality staff.

"Those staff have been brilliant but before every fixture some are having to let us down at the last minute due to COVID restrictions.

"We have struggled to get products and suppliers, through no fault of their own, are sometimes letting us down right at the last moment too.

"For example, we haven’t been able to get a supply of drinks in PET bottles from suppliers at the moment and this is likely to be an ongoing problem.

"We have got around the problem by buying cans but to comply with the regulations these have to be decanted into a plastic glass.

"Most of the fans are understanding and supportive but some just kick off about these changes which are really out of our hands.

"So thanks to great work by the staff at the club and with the exception of the very first home match and just a few other areas, everything is up and running as close to normal as we can get it and in many cases it appears to be better than before.

"For example, the takings on food and drink is up 10% per head despite some claims that we are not opening any bars at all."