WITH injuries and suspensions to think about, it will be interesting to see what happens with the selection and formation for the game against Macclesfield Town this weekend.

With the formation, I would like us to maybe change to 3-5-2 or even 4-4-2.

That way, there will be more support up top with a pairing.

We have the centre-backs and players who can slot in at wing-backs until the regular choices are back.

Then again, this may be the opportunity for someone else to come in and stake their claim in the XI.

By having two up front, there will not be the pressure on one forward leading the line.

I am a massive fan of Luke Norris and while I know he has not been scoring, he has been working his socks of as an isolated player.

Give him a strike partner and not only will the load be shared, it will also present a different challenge for the opposition to deal with.

Luke has for some reason been the go-to scapegoat and it is not justified.

Any striker will have a dip if the goals dry up and encouragement from the fans will help lift that and get him scoring again.

The boos and shouts he gets when something goes wrong are disproportionate, compared to when others do the same thing.

One player who we do not need to worry about with confidence is Tom Eastman.

The long-serving defender is now on 350 appearances and seems to pop up in the right place every time.

He is a very quiet individual off the pitch and lets his football do the talking.

Tom is key to the team and gives his all; that was very evident last Saturday with him being the last defender and somehow at times he seemed be in two places at once.

Harry Pell is back with a bang and making up for lost time after the nasty injury issues and also of note is Ben Stevenson.

Another quiet one but he is the heart of a strong midfield and really can control the game; everything seems to go through him.

We have a run of key matches over the next few weeks.

After Macclesfield, we're at home to Bradford and then away at Exeter; after this we will know more about where we stand.

There's 20 games left with 60 points still up for grabs starting with the game on Saturday, where as always we hope to see a good crowd cheering the lads on from the word go.

We made the long trip up to Morecambe last weekend and you have to love an early morning start for the joys of an away game.

The rest of the house is asleep with even the dogs not even bothering to move; outside, the crisp early January weather hits the lungs in the dark.

Jump in the car and for once I am not driving; I was playing the role of annoying passenger while my friend Nick drove.

Not a bad swap except for the fact this week's chariot is fitted with a black box, so it was a nice and relaxed, or slow depending on whether the speed limit is a guide or obeyed when going as the signs say you sure see a lot of things that you normally miss.

Three services stopped at to find a decent breakfast and one closed road later, we finally made it.

Oh and it rained rather a lot but anyway, enough of the travelling as it was a nightmare and one to forget, so on to the football.

On a wet and windy pitch, we did not make our chances count and were left to scratch our heads, wondering what a difference that second goal would have made.

In fairness, their keeper did make a number of key saves and kept them in the game, but still.

Ryan Jackson's red card was the real cherry on the top.

While it is only a one-game ban at home against Macclesfield, it comes at a time when we are not really spoilt for choice on full-backs.

Si Collinson (Colchester United season-ticket holder)