In-form Colchester United attacker Courtney Senior feels he is making up for lost time after taking League Two by storm.

And the teenager believes the trust John McGreal has put in him is playing its part in his dazzling performances.

Having been hampered by injury in the first 18 months of his U’s career, Senior has contributed to goals in each of their last four games and has started their last two fixtures.

He is set to keep his place in boss McGreal’s starting line-up when Colchester make the long trip to play Carlisle United tomorrow – and says he is loving being involved.

Senior said: “I do feel like I need to make up time that I’ve lost.

“But the setbacks and the injuries are nothing that you can really control.

“I’m just trying to do as much as I can and carry on what I’m doing.

“When I first came to Colchester, I did my ACL which was a killer as I was basically out for the whole of last season.

“I came in at the beginning of this season but then I got a little hamstring niggle after making my debut against Forest Green which ruled me out for a few weeks and then I hurt my other hamstring, which was another three weeks.

“Since then, I’ve been fine and have been working on it.

“It’s lovely that the manager gives me freedom to play.

“As a young player, when there’s too much pressure or too much asked you’re not really focused on what you like doing.

“But the manager and Bally have put a lot of faith in me to go and have fun but to also know my responsibilities.

“Everything is going well – I’m getting my starts and affecting the game.

“It’s been quite hard to step up and the intensity of the game is a lot higher and the players are better as well.

“But the manager and Bally are telling me to go out and do what I do best and that’s what I’ve been doing.

“They put in a lot of trust in me and tell me to enjoy the game, have fun and have a smile on my face.

“They want me to do what I do best going forward but defend and track runners, when needed.

“I don’t really like defending but it’s part of the game.”

Senior will be hoping to help Colchester close the gap on the play-off places at Brunton Park tomorrow.

The U’s lie five points off the top seven with 15 games remaining, ahead of their trip to Cumbria.

“We’re quite close,” said former Brentford youngster Senior.

“We got the Newport win and it’s a big week coming up for us.

“If we can get a couple of wins in our next games, we’ll carry on pushing for promotion.

“Carlisle is a long way to go but it’s another game that I can get involved in and if I don’t start, I’ll try and affect the game as I will if I start.

“The boys are looking forward to it, after the Newport win.”