The U’s head into tonight's contest with Danny Cowley continuing to contend with an injury-hit squad and searching for the victory that will provide a big lift.

But skipper Tucker believes the margins have been finer than their recent sequence might suggest and feels a couple of positive results could quickly transform their outlook.

Colchester were left frustrated in their 0-0 draw with Exeter City, with Tucker going agonisingly close when his second-half effort struck the underside of the crossbar.

Tucker said: “When your luck’s out, your luck’s out.

“On another day, that bounces over the line, we go away 1-0 winners and everyone’s happy as anything.

“But where we’re at at the minute, we’re not getting the rub of the green with those moments.

“We had a lot of moments where we got into some half decent areas and it was just a little touch or a little cross or whatever it might be just not quite technically where we need to be, at times.

Confident - Colchester United defender Jack Tucker (Image: Richard Blaxall)

“But I’d rather be getting in those sort of areas and not finishing them off, rather than not finishing them at all, so that’s positive.

“We need to keep plugging away, keep doing the right things, trusting the process and it’s only a matter of time before they start going in for us.”

Tucker is refusing to become downbeat about the U’s run, pointing to how quickly their fortunes could change at this relatively early stage of the campaign.

“A lot of the games that we haven’t come out the right side of have been so close, decided by big moments at either end," said the former MK Dons defender.

“A couple of wins in a week can change the table so drastically at this stage, so there’s no reason to not be confident.

“We need to keep believing in what we’re doing, because we’ve seen before that in spells of games, we have the ability to be a tough opposition for other teams.

“As long as we all commit to that and give 100 per cent and we’re all aligned on what we believe is the right way to go about things, we’ll be fine again going forward.”

Ready for action - Colchester United defender Jack Tucker (Image: Richard Blaxall)

That belief will be tested at Chesterfield, where Colchester will also be attempting to make amends for a difficult visit last season.

Tucker remembers the backing the U’s received from their travelling support in their 3-0 defeat at the SMH Group Stadium and is determined to give them a better showing this time around.

“It’ll be very tough,” he said.

“We had a tough day at Chesterfield last year, so we need to rectify that and give a better account of ourselves than we did last time for the travelling supporters who came in good numbers, I remember.”

Cowley has been forced to contend with a significant injury list, increasing the importance of his squad players.

Tucker highlighted the contributions of Paul Digby and Frankie Terry against Exeter as examples of players grasping their opportunities.

“There’s a lot out and unfortunately, we haven’t had much luck in that area so far, this season,” said Tucker.

“But it’s an opportunity for others to step up.

“It’s a squad game at the end of the day and you’re never going to have 11 players fit for the whole season.

“Diggers, who hasn’t played as much as he would have liked, came in and gave us great energy and was excellent.

Making strides - Colchester United defender Frankie Terry (Image: Richard Blaxall)

“Frankie Terry next to me, I think it was his second league start this season and he came in and did brilliantly.

“I see every day that he’s working so hard and pushing the lads that have been playing to be better, because the competition for places is something that we want.

“I thought he was outstanding. He won every header.

“He was a pleasure for me to play alongside and helped me out as much as I helped him out.”

Tucker admits Colchester would welcome some of their injured players back as quickly as possible but believes those available have to continue stepping up in their absence.

“It would be great to have some of the cavalry back to give us that extra edge because ultimately, we’re missing some really, really good players that have done well for us in the past,” he said.

“But until then, we’ll keep working hard and doing the best with what we’ve got.”

Turning tight contests into victories is now the challenge.

Tucker acknowledges draws have cost the U’s opportunities to climb the table, particularly after letting advantages slip late in games.

“It’s such fine margins and with the draws, there’s a lot of points dropped at the end of the day,” he said.

Positive thinking - Colchester United captain Jack Tucker (Image: Richard Blaxall)

“Who knows how different the table could look if in a couple of the games, we’d held on and not conceded late.

“But there’s nothing we can do about it now.

“Ultimately, wins are worth a lot more than draws in the league, so we have to try and turn the tight games in our favour.”

And Tucker hopes the clean sheet against Exeter can provide another building block, having admitted Colchester have not recorded enough shut-outs this season.

“A clean sheet is something that we’ve not had enough of this season,” he said.

“If you keep a lot of clean sheets, you’re giving yourself a lot of chances to win games of football.

“It’s nice for Tim [Lo-Tutala], who’s not had much luck because obviously it reflects on him and all of us.

“So, I was happy for him to get that clean sheet and hopefully, it’s the first of many more to come.”