Anthony O’Riordan insists Colchester Rugby Club are not ready to surrender their National League status just yet.

But the Blacks’ director of rugby admits he is already has one eye on the future, with relegation now looking more probable than possible this season.

Colchester head into their game at Guildford this weekend lying second from bottom in London and South East division three, after a season of struggle.

The Mill Road outfit are 15 points adrift of safety with four games remaining, three of which are away from home.

Colchester were promoted as London One North champions in 2015 after scoring 1,228 points, the highest number in English rugby that season.

They look destined to return there for next season but O’Riordan insists his players are still focused on finishing the current campaign on a winning note.

O’Riordan said: “For the players, it’s the present that matters so we’ll be looking to win every game we play between now and the end of the season.

“As long as we’re doing the best by us, then nobody can ask questions.

“It’s not too early for me as a coach to think about next season and there will be experimentation but the boys have to concentrate on now.

“We’ll be playing the games with the intention to win and solidify where we are.

“I’ve never been a coach to play it safe and we’re not afraid as coaches to make changes based on how I feel about a situation and we’ll never rest on our laurels.

“We won’t be the only team to go up to the National League and then be relegated in a three-year cycle.

“You can never say never and we don’t know the fate of the other teams in our league but if we are relegated, I don’t think we’ll be out of the National League for long.

“We’re taking steps to prepare for the future and we’re not looking back.

“Two years ago, we were beating every side that we met and it’s how we come out at the end of it that matters.

“We’ve had a hard season but we’ve worked hard on solidifying our game and our basic skill set through coaching and application.

“Our big Achilles heel has been the fact that we’ve had a different team due to injury and unavailability and because of that, it’s very hard to build a stable platform with instability.”

Colchester will head into their game at Guildford looking to build on their encouraging display against promotion-chasing Wimbledon, a fortnight ago.

The Blacks were beaten 34-18 after a spirited performance against a side that had thumped them 62-7, earlier in the season.

O’Riordan added: “Our performance in our last game against Wimbledon was very encouraging and that was a boost.

“Wimbledon are second in the league and pushing hard for promotion.

“They scored more than 60 points against us earlier in the season and embarrassed us but I think we did that to them this time by being a team towards the bottom of the table putting them to the test.

“When we have everyone available, we can beat anyone in this league.

“That’s the most frustrating thing for me as a coach but it’s reassuring to see us put in the kind of performance we put in against Wimbledon.

“We know all about the ability of the players who are there and they are committed to the club but sometimes, life gets in the way and they miss games and I understand that.”