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This is not the first time we've faced the bottom club at home this season. Very fresh in our minds is the week in December when we were twice beaten by the bottom club in the space of four days, first QPR and then Preston.
We don't want that to happen again, and we can't let that happen again. A win today is guaranteed to lift us one place at least with Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace having lost last night at Charlton, a game that saw Andy Gray extend is run without a goal to twelve games.
For Colchester, the season has been nothing like last season when they enjoyed a fantastic first season in the Championship. They ended it in tenth place but for much of the season were very much in contention for a play off place, mainly based on a superb home record that was bettered only by Birmingham.
That's been the problem, from having the best home record in 2006/07 season they currently have the worst and only QPR and West Brom have lost at Layer Road and the second of those home wins came in early October.
Manager Geraint Williams was busy in the January transfer window and brought in four new players on a permanent basis. Chris Coyne from Luton and Brighton's Dean Hammond cost a total of £600,000.
To add to that he nipped in to get Tottenham's Philip Ifil ahead of Southampton where he'd been on loan and also beat Barnsley to the signature of Scott Vernon from Blackpool.
e need to be on our toes, their last two wins have come away from home with the most recent a 2-1 win at Charlton on New Year's Day courtesy of two goals form Kevin Lisbie their leading scorer, signed in the summer having been released by Charlton.
Finally Owen Coyle got his first home win as Burnley manager in mid-January when we beat Plymouth, and that was followed up with another win against Scunthorpe. We need to keep that run going, especially with four of the following six league games on the road.
Geraint Williams has some injury problems ahead of the game. Free kick specialist Mark Yeates is ruled out for the first time this season with a dislocated shoulder whilst new signing Dean Hammond will still have to wait for his U's debut. He arrived at the club both suspended and injured and he's still to shake off the injury although is now clear of suspension.
Jamie Guy hasn't made the squad and Pat Baldwin hasn't been considered despite returning in the reserves in midweek where he played the first seventy minutes. Kevin McLeod and Kevin Watson also played in that reserve game on the way back from injury and they are both included in a seventeen man squad that has travelled to Lancashire.
We can expect Colchester to line up: Dean Gerken, John White, Chris Coyne, Adam Virgo, Paul Ifil, Karl Duguid, Johnnie Jackson, Kem Izzet, Kevin McLeod, Clive Platt, Kevin Lisbie. Subs from: Mark Cousins, Bela Balogh, Kevin Watson, Luke Guttridge Teddy Sheringham, Scott Vernon.
For Owen Coyle it looks a case of one in, one out. We're still without Steve Jones, Alan Mahon and Clarke Carlisle, as well as long term injury victims Besart Berisha and Michael Duff, and whilst he welcomes back Kyle Lafferty from suspension it looks as though Chris McCann could be missing with an injury he picked up at West Brom.
Lafferty has been out since his dismissal in the cup tie against Arsenal five weeks ago tomorrow, and in normal circumstances he might have had to wait for a recall. But I expect him to return to the starting eleven, and on the left hand side rather than up front where the manager is keen to play him.
Of the two new loan signings, Andrew Cole will probably start at the expense of Ade Akinbiyi who can count himself very unfortunate if he lands only a place on the bench. Arsenal youngster Mark Randall may have to wait a while longer for his first start and he's more than likely going to be on the bench again today.
Our team could be: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Stanislav Varga, David Unsworth, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, Joey Gudjonsson, James O'Connor, Kyle Lafferty, Robbie Blake, Andrew Cole. Subs from: Gabor Kiraly, Steven Caldwell, John Spicer, Mark Randall, Ade Akinbiyi, Stephen Jordan, Garreth O'Connor.
This was not the result we wanted after returning from the first international break of the season. We'd played extremely well in the previous game, a draw at Crystal Palace, but found ourselves beaten by a Colchester side who'd won only one game all season.
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The first goal was a shocker. They got down the right wing and put in a cross that should just have been caught by the goalkeeper. He came, somehow didn't get to it and left them with the simplest of tasks for Kevin Watson to give Colchester the lead.
No one on the ground could believe we were behind at half time, but things got worse early in the second half courtesy of a shocking decision from the assistant referee. Colchester should have made more of three on two opportunity but they wasted it and allowed John McGreal to get back and play the ball back to Jensen.
Incredibly the flag waver stuck his flag across his chest, and disbelievingly referee Ray Olivier accepted his call and pointed to the spot. Chris Iwelumo scored from twelve yards and we were two goals down for the first time all season.
Steve Cotterill made a triple substitution and sadly we had to experience one of the three, Gifton Noel-Williams, shamefully being booed on by the home fans. As it happens he did well, and if we all recall only four days later he came on as a sub again to devastating effect.
We threw all we could at Colchester and with just a few minutes to go Andy Gray pulled a goal back to give us a chance of rescuing a point. We couldn't and as the final whistle blew we saw the said assistant look like a sprint champion as he did all he could to get to the sanctuary of the dressing rooms as quickly as possible.
For Burnley it had overall been a disappointing performance in a game we simply should not have lost. For Colchester, they just put their sombreros on.
The teams were;
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Frank Sinclair (Michael Duff 60), Wayne Thomas, John McGreal, Jon Harley, James O'Connor, Micah Hyde, Alan Mahon, Kyle Lafferty (Wade Elliott 60), Andy Gray, Steve Jones (Gifton Noel-Williams 59). Subs not used: Stephen Foster, Chris McCann.
Colchester: Aidan Davison, Greg Halford, Wayne Brown, Pat Baldwin, Chris Barker, Richard Garcia, Kem Izzet (John White 44, George Elokobi 82), Kevin Watson, Karl Duguid, Chris Iwelumo, Jamie Cureton (Kevin McLeod 78). Subs not used: Dean Gerken, Jamie Guy.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1986/87 | 4 | h | 2-1 | 1,696 | Grewcock Hoskin |
| . | . | a | 0-1 | 2,635 | . |
1987/88 | 4 | h | 0-3 | 5,419 | . |
| . | . | a | 1-0 | 2,520 | Reeves |
1988/89 | 4 | h | 2-0 | 7,177 | O'Connell Rowell |
| . | . | a | 2-2 | 3,831 | White(2 1pen) |
1989/90 | 4 | h | 0-0 | 6,145 | . |
| . | . | a | 2-1 | 2,788 | White(pen) Taylor(og) |
1998/99 | 2 | a | 4-0 | 5,532 | Payton(2) Vindheim Cooke |
| .99 | . | h | 3-1 | 10,747 | Johnrose Payton(2) |
1999/2000 | 2 | h | 3-0 | 10,090 | Payton(3 1pen) |
| . | . | a | 2-1 | 6,194 | Davis(2) |
2006/07 | C | h | 1-2 | 10,039 | Gray |
| . | . | a | 0-0 | 4,934 | . |
2007/08 | C | a | 3-2 | 4,925 | Mahon Gray(2 1pen) |