CITY must serve up a repeat showing at Colchester tomorrow – by orders of the management.

After their impressive victory over MK Dons, Phil Parkinson wants exactly the same level of commitment and performance against the struggling U's.

Colchester have yet to win at home this season and spectacularly blew a two-goal lead in the last eight minutes to lose to Sheffield United on Tuesday.

But Parkinson insists that nobody can afford to take his old club lightly – and will not.

He said: "We can't predict how Colchester are going to approach the game in terms of confidence. All we can do is affect what we do.

"We're not asking, we're demanding the same level of performance.

"The players we've got are confident in their ability. Our job is to pick the right team who are ready to go again physically.

"We did that on Tuesday when I thought (Aaron) Mclean was ready and Steve (Parkin) and I will be taking the same approach when we choose the side after training.

"We can't afford to carry anybody – there will be no passengers at all."

Parkinson felt a big factor in City's midweek win was how well they played when MK Dons had possession.

"Good discipline off the ball means you get it back and makes it harder for the opposition to play through you," he said.

"A great example of that was Billy Clarke's goal. You could see him adjust his position to make their switch of play difficult, he wins it back and drives through and scores."

James Hanson had a scan on his strained thigh yesterday afternoon and has not travelled with the squad to Essex. Matty Dolan is getting closer after his calf injury but is still another week away.

Parkinson's close friend Joe Dunne left the Colchester hot-seat by mutual consent at the start of the month. The club promoted from within again by giving academy manager Tony Humes the job as they focus on bringing through younger players.

The side that finished the Blades game had an average age of only 22 and included midfielder Sammie Szmodics, who scored a hat-trick at Valley Parade in the Youth Alliance Cup final in April.

Parkinson said: "They beat Orient 2-0 and were two up against Sheffield United. We know they've got good footballers and are a decent, young team.

"I know what Colchester's all about. They can't get the crowds to generate to compete in wages but what they can do is get the structure as strong as possible for young players.

"The chairman there has put a lot of money into the youth system and built the training ground. They are slowly reaping the benefits of that but it takes time.

"Joe paid the price for that but the chairman said that Mark Kinsella and him had done a good job to keep them in the division when they parted ways.

"I know it's hard, having managed there myself. Geographically it's a little bit out of the way and they don't pay the wages (of other clubs).

"We had no facilities at all when I was there but it was a great learning curve for my first management job. It was fantastic experience and it's stayed with me through my career so far."