Humes retains survival faith

Tony Humes still believes Colchester can stay up despite their damaging 1-0 defeat against fellow strugglers Notts County.

The U's are two points adrift of safety with 12 games remaining after suffering an 11th home league loss of the season. Paddy McCourt, on loan from Brighton, grabbed County's winner midway through the second half. Humes said: "The players are good enough to keep the club in League One, they've shown that on so many occasions this season. "But the home form has been an issue for the last couple of years and we haven't resolved it. "We've tried different formations and different ways to work it out but it continues. "We looked a shadow of what we've been this season and there wasn't enough quality on the pitch. "It was poor all game and we didn't get going at all. "We didn't pass the ball how we set out to go and play. "We didn't keep possession and to be fair, Notts County did to us what we had set out to do to them. "Whether it was the expectation of the game, the players looked nervous. "We have to be better and braver than that and the players are massively disappointed, as you would expect." Magpies boss Shaun Derry was pleased to see his side end a run of three straight defeats. He said: "I'm relieved that this horrible run we've been on is over. "But I'm not taking anything for granted because we know we've got a tough last 13 games coming up. "The first 45 minutes was a really good performance, albeit without the goal. "The second 45 was horrible for everybody who came to watch. "It wasn't very good, bar a little bit of magic that got us the goal. "The goal-line clearance by Blair Adams was a turning point in the game. "We asked the boys to put their bodies on the line tonight because we knew that at some point in the second half Colchester would come for us. "They started really well in the second half and we matched that in terms of the intensity and the hard running that you need to do. "But overall there was only one team that deserved to win and that was us." Colchester keeper Sam Walker denied Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Adams and Liam Noble, as the visitors dominated the first half. Garry Thompson had missed a glorious chance early in the second half before McCourt directed a fine header past Walker from Campbell-Ryce's cross to break the deadlock. McCourt was denied a second by Walker and although Adams cleared Macauley Bonne's goalbound effort off the line, County held on for a big victory.