WAYNE Brown never gave an inch as a player. Ever.

He was the kind of defender who left everything out there.

One of Brown's big qualities during his successful playing days, aside from his talent as a footballer, was his sheer desire and hunger to win every game.

He dealt with many challenges on and off the pitch during his 15-year professional career, which took him to the very top.

But surely the former Premier League defender will have faced few bigger test than the one Colchester United have in front of them.

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Colchester's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hartlepool United, where defensive errors once again plagued the U's, has made this weekend's home clash with fellow strugglers Oldham Athletic even more vital.

Brown produced some fighting talk last night, in the aftermath of the Hartlepool result.

“We have a tough game against Oldham here on Saturday and you either stand up to the challenge that lies ahead or if we concede a goal and go under like we did tonight, it will go one way," he said.

The battling spirit witnessed in the opening games of Brown's interim spell seems to have diminished.

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Upon taking over as interim boss on January 22, one of the key words Brown used was mentality.

He wanted the U's out-of-form players to buy into what he, Joe Dunne and Dave Huzzey were portraying.

Initially that happened and there was a bounce, with excellent away wins at Leyton Orient and Salford City and commendable spirit shown to rescue a point with only nine men against high-flying Swindon Town.

It looked as though Colchester were turning a corner.

But one point from a possible 12 in their last four games means that inevitably, confidence is brittle.

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Back-to-back defeats have left the U's a defeat away from dropping into the League Two relegation zone.

Last night's loss to Hartlepool was hugely disappointing in so many ways, not least that it was the third successive home game that Colchester had led, only to be pegged back.

The U's always look like scoring goals and they did again last night.

John Akinde proved effective and Noah Chilvers' strike might easily have been added to.

But they also look like conceding and nine goals shipped in the last four games tells its own story.

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Colchester will no doubt point to Cameron Coxe's effort that came back off a post in the first half as a pivotal moment.

Had that gone in, the U's would have been 2-0 up and in a more comfortable position to see out the game.

As it was, Hartlepool were given a route back into the contest and seized it.

To his credit, Brown didn't want to hear any hard luck stories, last night.

"I hate that being that hard luck team or having a hard luck mentality - you make your own luck," he said.

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Colchester's home form is not helping their cause, at the moment.

They have not won at the JobServe Community Stadium since beating Exeter City there last November and seem to be dealing with a psychological barrier there at times.

They must somehow overcome any mental demons they have there on Saturday, though.

A win over Oldham - who sit two points below them in the table but with two games in hand on the U's - would be a huge boost to their survival hopes and in turn, deal a big blow to the Latics' own quest to remain in the Football League.

A defeat? Well, that doesn't bear thinking about.