Paul Lambert today backed his players to bring some Christmas cheer to Colchester United fans.

The U’s are preparing for two games in three days, against teams below them in the Coca-Cola League One table.

Colchester travel to play Brighton and Hove Albion on Boxing Day, followed by a home game against Leyton Orient on Sunday.

A maximum six-point haul could see the U’s move into the top half of the table for the first time since September.

And although the festive period is a taxing time for English-based footballers, boss Lambert is confident his players will cope with the additional demands.

He said: “It’s their job to turnaround quickly in two days and I’m sure that they’ll do that.

“They have to cope – the turnaround is hard for players but they know what they need to do and people like the festive season (to watch) games.

“We do have a quick turnaround of games down here.

“We never had the same amount of games up north.

“And in Germany they have a winter break, which gives them the chance to rest and go again in January and February.

“We know what we have to do over the next couple of games.

“We have two tough games coming up in quick succession and we’re looking to win both.

“If we can do that, it will put us up there.

“There’s still miles to go in the season and we will battle away.”