Mikael Mandron helped Colchester United record successive league wins for the first time this season – and then thanked boss John McGreal for backing him.

Mandron bagged the U’s second goal in their impressive 2-0 triumph over Mansfield Town, which made it seven points from a possible nine for McGreal’s side in their last three matches in League Two.

Striker Mandron has clocked up more starts than any other Colchester outfield player so far this season, after arriving from Wigan Athletic in the summer.

And after bagging his third goal of the campaign, the towering forward says McGreal’s consistent support has lifted him.

Mandron said: “The manager has always had a whole lot of confidence in me and that feels good.

“He always backs me and I’m very grateful for that.

“I try to give everything I can for the team until the last minute.

“In every game, I always try my hardest and I know that with games like this and wins and goals like this, it’s always going to help.

“It’s never easy as a striker – you always have loads of responsibilities.

“But I feel as a team, we’re hitting the ground running and getting stronger and stronger and I feel like I’m getting better, as well.

“It gives you a massive boost when you score goals as a striker.

“I have three goals but you always want more.

“It was a great cross (from Sean Murray) – he put it on my head and I just had to flick it on.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to kick on and score again in the next game.”

Mandron scored Colchester’s second against Mansfield, after midfielder Sean Murray had given them the lead five minutes earlier.

The win lifts the U’s up to 15th in the table, six points off the play-off places ahead of the visit of Carlisle United on Saturday.

“On our pitch, we can beat anyone in the league and we proved that,” added Mandron, who celebrates his 23rd birthday on Wednesday.

“We always expect a very good performance and a win at home and we’ll be looking to get three points again against Carlisle.

“We’ve got seven points from nine from our last three games and it’s good to finish the week with another win, so we’re definitely on a high.

“We knew that they would throw everything at us in the second half and I thought we did really well to deal with the long balls and the set pieces.

“And when we broke, we managed to create more chances.

“We’ve been looking at all of the stats in the games and we always seem to finish them on top - I think that says a lot about our fitness.”