LEE Bradbury is hoping Cherries can banish the memory of his one and only outing to the Weston Homes Community Stadium when they face Colchester tonight.

Bradbury made the 570th and final appearance of his illustrious career when Cherries suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Essex venue in Eddie Howe’s last game at the helm in January.

The 36-year-old was substituted at half-time following a below par first-half showing – before being appointed caretaker manager just hours later after Howe had left for Burnley.

Cherries head east bidding to extend to five an unbeaten run on the road and also looking to haul themselves out of the relegation zone after slipping to 21st following the 2-1 defeat by Bury.

Bradbury, speaking to the Daily Echo in the wake of Saturday’s reverse, said: “It would be nice to go back and get some points. I didn’t play well in my final appearance and got dragged at half-time!”

He added: “It is massively important we keep our away form going while we are not performing at home. But we won’t be able to keep relying on our away form and need to change our home form.

“We are a decent team on the road and I am pleased we have got another game so quickly so we can try to put things right after the Bury result. It was evident it wasn’t a performance that warranted three points.

“I felt we had been making strides and had gone forward every week. But we stood still against Bury and weren’t aggressive in our play. We were a bit standoffish and that’s not how I want us to play. I want us to be on the front foot and attacking teams, especially at home.”

Colchester are currently 13th in League One having lost only one of their six home games – to Charlton in August. John Ward’s men have beaten Walsall and Oldham and drawn with Wycombe, Orient and Yeovil.

Bradbury added: “They are a good footballing side and have got some threats going forward. John has got them playing good football.

“I think they will give us a little bit of respect because our away form has been decent. It should be a good game.”

Bradbury could be forced to make changes with Harry Arter (calf) and Joe Partington (ankle) both unlikley to feature after picking up injuries during the Bury defeat.

Shaun Cooper, who sat out against the Shakers due to a calf problem, could be available, although Bradbury feels the clash could come too soon for Shaun MacDonald, who has been sidelined for six weeks with a toe injury.

Wes Fogden, who impressed after coming off the bench at half-time against Bury, could be in contention to make his full league debut for Cherries, while Scott Malone is expected to be added to the squad.