BEN Garner admits he will have this weekend’s home clash with Harrogate Town in mind when he picks his Colchester United team for tonight’s EFL Trophy group game at Cambridge United.

And the U's head coach is confident he can turn his side's fortunes around.

Colchester head to the Abbey Stadium for their second Group D match in the competition (kick-off 7pm) looking to get their season back on track, following a run of three successive league defeats.

Midfield duo Arthur Read and Jay Mingi are both available to play for the U's against Cambridge, despite being suspended for the upcoming Harrogate clash.

READ MORE: 'Forest Green defeat was a new low for us long-suffering U's fans'

Goalkeeper Owen Goodman is still away on England under-20 duty and is unavailable, so boss Garner must choose between Tom Smith and Sam Hornby between the sticks.

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Tom Dallison is pushing for a start after coming on as a half-time substitute at Forest Green Rovers last weekend, while winger Owura Edwards could be included in the squad for the first time since returning to the club on a permanent basis, having recovered from injury.

Garner said: “We’ll take what happened at Forest Green into account, of course.

“We’d mapped out an idea beforehand but we’ll have to look at that now.

“For example, Tom (Dallison) has played more than we had expected him to play (against Forest Green).

READ MORE: League Two club part company with boss after poor results

“We’ll make decisions that we think are right for Tuesday but also very much with an eye on Saturday as well.”

Garner wants to see an improved performance from his Colchester side, following their 5-0 reverse at Forest Green Rovers last weekend.

The U’s boss was particularly disappointed that for the second successive game, his players were unable to adhere to their game plan and pre-match instructions in slumping to a big defeat.

Garner added: “It’s different if you smell something in the week, or the attitude isn’t right or the intensity in training isn’t right.

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“We watch training back every week, so it’s not like we don’t know if something hasn’t worked.

“But that’s two games in a row where it hasn’t replicated what we’ve prepped on and the game plan and how we want to play.

“I don’t know if there’s a bit of fear there or the players are feeling pressure but we’ve got to find a way that they maximise performance on a Saturday – not in the week, because it counts for nothing, in training.

“We’ve got to turn up at Cambridge and then Harrogate at home, on Saturday.

READ MORE: This is why Tom Dallison wore a facial mask against Forest Green

“That’s where we’ve got to peak and show what we can do.

“But there’s no point in me hanging players out to dry and turning on people.

“I still believe we can really improve the season and really improve the fortunes of the club, moving forward.

“We’ve shown that at the end of last season and we’ve shown that in strong glimpses, this season.

“All I can say is that we’ll be putting everything in possible to improve and give them performances they can be proud of.”