DEVANTE Cole might have been lining up in the home attack against the Bantams tonight.

Colchester thought they had a deal in place to sign the 20-year-old striker last month before Phil Parkinson swooped to take him.

Boss Tony Humes was frustrated to lose out but saw an opportunity to grab Marvin Sordell after the former England under-21 frontman left Burnley at the end of the transfer window.

Sordell, who has joined the U's for the rest of the season, currently trails 3-1 to Cole in the scoring stakes.

But his arrival has coincided with a major upturn for the Essex club, who are unbeaten in his four appearances and have netted ten goals in the process.

"We've been patient and missed out on a few – but maybe it was meant to be," said Humes.

"As soon as Marvin became available, we made a tentative enquiry. He's been at Premier League clubs and it was more of a case of sounding out something that was an option for us."

Saturday's win at Swindon was Colchester's third on the bounce – their best run for nearly three years.

"We're trying to play the game in an expansive way that gets us goals and gets us results," said Humes.

"There are still times from that where we're a little bit open but we have to continue that way if we're going to get success."

On-loan Charlton winger Callum Harriott has scored the winner in each of the last two games but is a possible doubt to face the Bantams. He was subbed before the end at the County Ground after suffering a knock to his knee.

Right back Kane Vincent-Young was left out on Saturday to rest an ankle problem and could come back into consideration. Tosin Olufemi deputised for his first start since April 2014 after missing the whole of last season.