COLCHESTER United interim head coach Wayne Brown has given an update on the players who currently find themselves out of his squad.

Midfielder Brendan Wiredu (below) and long-serving defender Tom Eastman - who have made 61 first-team appearances between them so far this season for the U's - were both omitted from their matchday 18 for the game against Leyton Orient, on Tuesday night.

The likes of Armando Dobra and Miles Welch-Hayes have also found themselves left out of Colchester's first-team squad, over recent games.

Brown says he understands the disappointment of those players who have been left out, as the U's battle to pull away from the League Two relegation zone.

But the Colchester interim head coach has reiterated that everyone will be needed, between now and the end of the season.

Brown said: “Everyone has been great and they’ve been spot on with me.

“Yes they’ve been disappointed but I wouldn’t expect anything else.

“It’s about keeping them in the right frame of mind but also physically and mentally, to go out and do the best they can for the team."

“You have to be as one; you have to be together.

Gazette:

“Yes, be frustrated and my door is always open if there’s a problem and I’ll speak to any player, at any time.

“But it’s about how they act around the group, how professional they are around the group and how supportive they are around the group when they’re not involved because three days later, they could be starting a game of football.

“It’s our job to keep the group in a mental place where they can give the best to the group that they can on a Tuesday or a Saturday, whether or not it’s starting, on the bench or in the stand.

“We’re in this together and everyone is going to be needed between now and the end of the season."

Gazette:

Brown made two changes to his starting line-up against Leyton Orient, recalling Freddie Sears and Myles Kenlock.

Skipper Tommy Smith and striker John Akinde were dropped to the bench, while the likes of Wiredu and Eastman (pictured above) were left out altogether.

“It’s part and parcel of the job," added Brown.

“When you’ve got a fit 22 or 23 players, there’s unfortunately going to be people who are disappointed.

“But it’s how they show their disappointment and how they handle it.

Gazette:

“Hanno (Luke Hannant, pictured above) wasn’t in the squad last Tuesday (against Hartlepool) but he’s started against Oldham for us and he started on Tuesday (against Leyton Orient).

“So although you might find yourself out of the 18, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t start the next game if we feel that you can be part of that XI that’s going to give us the best chance of winning a game of football.

“It’s about how we manage the individuals but also how the players in the group manage themselves, with the disappointment."