NO more Mr Nice Guys.

Colchester United midfielder Sammie Szmodics says he and his team-mates are ready to roll their sleeves up and fight for League One survival.

The U’s are fourth from bottom and entrenched in a dogfight, ahead of today’s tricky trip to play-off chasing Oldham Athletic.

Szmodics is still convinced his side will stay up and says the word ‘relegation’ is not even being used in the dressing room.

But he admits the players need to show a more ruthless streak - starting at Boundary Park.

“Maybe we’re too nice,” said the 19-year-old midfielder, who scored the U’s consolation goal in Tuesday’s 4-1 defeat at Sheffield United.

“League One is a hard place. It’s not just about pretty football and pretty players.

“You need an arrogance to go and win the ball and battle for points.

“We showed that fight when we were under the cosh at Bradford recently, but not enough at Sheffield on Tuesday.

“That was something we spoke about afterwards and maybe we need to be a little bit more nasty.

“We can’t always be little old Colchester.

“We need to stand up for ourselves a bit more and need leaders out there.

“We’ve got to surprise teams by being a bit more nasty and not just one known for playing pretty football.”