Colchester 'have got to be winning now' - Iandolo

Colchester United defender Ellis Iandolo says they must improve at both ends of the pitch to have any chance of closing a nine-point gap to the play-off places.

The U's lost 1-0 at leaders Bromley on Saturday, their third defeat in five games this month, and they have failed to score a goal in the last three.

Iandolo returned from a two-month injury lay-off against Bromley, a match which saw Colchester have the lion's share of possession and almost match the home side's shot-count with 18.

"It didn't quite go our way in front of goal - maybe on another day we win that game," he told BBC Essex Sport.

"We came in at half-time, we were really pleased with how much we were creating and said it's just a case of going out there and doing the same and just adding that last little touch to things, and getting the goal we deserved.

"There was one point where it felt like it was a basketball match, it was end to end and felt like whoever was going to take that chance was probably going to take it [the three points] and they managed to do that better than us."

Colchester are 14th in the table ahead of Saturday's home match against Walsall and facing the prospect of an 11th successive season in League Two next term.

"We are in a position where we've got to be winning games now, we want to be pushing for the play-offs and we took a lot of risks (against Bromley), said Iandolo.

"We've got to do better as a team when we're defending our goal, we've got to do better as a team when we're attacking - set-pieces when the defenders are up, we've got to be taking those chances as well, it's not just the boys in attack (who need to score), it's all over the pitch."

Bromley have won 22 of their 39 games, losing only four, and look set for a place in the third tier, with a nine-point advantage over Notts County in fourth.

"They are really good at what they do. We knew exactly what sort of game it was going to be but they are so effective, so strong in both boxes," added Iandolo.

"It's no coincidence they're top, they do it week in and week out, it's not luck."