BEN Garner wants his Colchester United players to ‘upset the form book’ when they face League Two leaders Leyton Orient tomorrow.

And the U’s head coach believes a bumper away following can help them secure a much-needed win, in their battle to beat the drop.

Colchester make the short trip down the A12 to face a Leyton Orient side who are sitting pretty at the top of the table and looking on course for promotion.

In contrast, the U’s have lost their last four games without scoring and are six points above the relegation zone.

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Nevertheless, Colchester are set to be backed by more than 1,000 of their fans at Brisbane Road - and boss Garner believes that can be a big boost to his players.

Garner said: “To have a following like that going is fantastic.

“For me, derbies and games where there’s that little bit more of an edge I love.

“I love it, the supporters love it and it gives it a better edge to the game and to the players.

Gazette:

“The more we can take and the better the atmosphere is in the away end, the better for me.

“For us, we do want to upset the form book a little bit.

“They’re a really good side and Richie (Wellens) has done an incredible job there.

“It’s a great challenge for us to try and go and win against a team who’s at the top of this division.”

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Garner feels Colchester can look to aspects of what Leyton Orient have achieved this season in their planning for the next campaign.

O's boss Richie Wellens took over at Brisbane Road 12 months ago and has transformed the O's from relegation contenders to title favourites.

“Richie has done a fantastic job," said Garner.

Gazette:

“It’s probably a similar scenario in that he came in at Leyton Orient probably around this time last season, maybe a touch earlier, finished last season pretty well and obviously have had a fantastic season.

“The league table doesn’t lie; they’re the best team in the division this year.

“They’ve got really good energy, they press really well, they’re on the front foot and they’ve got quality at the top end of the pitch.

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“They’ve got a number of players who score goals and they don’t rely on a single player.

“They’re got goals throughout the team, they’re effective off set pieces and long throws, so a really good all-round team.

“There’s certainly aspects we can learn from looking ahead to next season, for what we want to try and do."