COLCHESTER United midfielder Harry Pell is staying positive about his side's promotion chances - and insists they will have no-one but themselves to blame if they miss out.

The U's have lost three of their last four matches and dipped to eighth in League Two.

Their most recent defeat was Saturday's 2-0 reverse against Cheltenham Town, at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Now they have ten matches left to revive their promotion quest - starting with this weekend's long trip to Carlisle United.

“Is a top-three finish still realistic, this season? Definitely," said the 28-year-old.

“Year after year, you always see a team that’s like a steam train towards the end of the season and, unexpectedly, they get into the top three.

“If we’re in the top seven, we’ll go for the play-offs and if we’re in the top three, fantastic.

“If we’re not, then we’ve got no-one to blame but ourselves.

“You get lucky moments in games but over the course of the season, there’s no luck involved – you finish where you deserve to."

While Colchester's form in recent weeks has been inconsistent, Pell is staying fully focused and taking it one game at a time.

Of their remaining ten matches, five are at home and five away.

Scunthorpe United, Crewe Alexandra, Mansfield Town, Oldham Athletic and Forest Green Rovers are the sides still to visit the JobServe Community Stadium while John McGreal's men go to Carlisle, Newport County, Bradford City, Northampton Town and Walsall.

Pell hopes he and his team-mates can find a level of consistency in the closing weeks of the season.

“We’ve spoken as a team and you can’t look too far forward," he said.

"I can’t really look further than the next game.

“I think everyone is playing at League Two level for a reason and that’s consistency.

“If we were turning teams over every week like we did against Plymouth, then a lot of us wouldn’t be playing at this level."