Colchester United midfielder Cameron McGeehan on goal trail

But the 28-year-old midfielder has stressed his seven goals for the U’s so far have not come by accident.

McGeehan has shown an instinct for being in the right place, at the right time for Colchester but the former Luton Town and Barnsley player says the decision by Danny Cowley to utilise him in a more advanced role has increased his goalscoring opportunities.

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“The gaffer has been good and has always been telling me about getting in the box, freeing me up and letting me be myself, which is obviously important for any player,” said McGeehan.

“It’s important that you have a manager who allows you to do that, because I’ve had managers before who have said ‘you’re a midfielder’ and ask you to sit.

“I’ve always scored more when I’ve had the licence to get into the box.

“I love that feeling of getting in the box and feeling something is going to happen.

“I’ve known the gaffer and Nicky for a long time, just from playing against them and we’ve sort of crossed over quite a lot.

“They know me and my game and that I’ve always scored goals.

“Before I was playing a bit deeper and try to break into the box but now, they’ve put in a more advanced position which obviously suits me.

“I get more chances and hopefully, I can score many more goals, this season.

“I don’t set myself a goal target but you want to get into double figures, as quickly as possible.

“I’ve always scored goals, always managed to make the runs, so I probably have a knack for finding the net.”

McGeehan’s highest career goal tally in a season so far is 14 which he netted for Luton, in the 2015-16 season.

“I put pressure on myself to score,” continued the U’s midfielder, who joined the club last summer.

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“It’s the players who need to put pressure on ourselves to deliver – you’re on the pitch, you need to score, you need to create chances.

“That’s my role in the team and it’s something I’ll be looking to do, until the end of the season.

“I think it’s important to put that healthy level of fear and pressure on yourself – it gives you that edge.

“You look at the table and it’s close but we know that if we put a few good games together, we can move up quickly but it’s all well and good saying that; we need to deliver it.

“We need to go out and put the performances together, because everyone around us is fighting for their teams and careers, too.

“It’s tough but that’s the game.”

Colchester host high-flying Stockport County tomorrow, aiming to claim a vital win in their battle to beat the drop.

The U’s have lost only one of their last eight games under Danny Cowley but have drawn their last three matches.

“I think the first thing was to stop losing games, which is obviously what we’ve done," said McGeehan, who has made 27 appearances for Colchester so far, this season.

“I think even the game at Harrogate, we lost it ourselves and we should have won or drawn that, at least.

“Now it’s just about turning the draws into wins and hopefully, we can do that on Saturday.

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“You look back and had we not conceded late goals in that mix of games, we’d be sitting in a lot better position.

“I think the performances and where we are in the game has obviously improved a lot and I just think it’s all looking up and confidence in the group has come from our performances.

“The new lads that have come in have obviously helped a lot and the intensity has gone up, with the way the manager has got us playing.

“I think we’ve probably been the better team in pretty much every game since they took over, so it’s improved in all areas.

“It’s probably just that little bit of confidence to go and win a game and put a run together.

“It’s coming and hopefully, we can go on a really good run.”

Colchester will this weekend be aiming to avenge their 2-0 defeat at Stockport, last November.

The Hatters are second in the table but without a win in their last four matches.

“I feel we showed them too much respect when we played them before,” added former Oostende player McGeehan.

“There’s pressure at both ends of the table.

“I’ve been in teams at the top of the table where there’s a lot of pressure and you need to win, to stay up there.

“They’ve had a little bit of a dip in form so hopefully, that can work to our advantage and we can go and get after them.”