Neil Aspin is hoping that his Port Vale side can continue their positive start to the 2018/19 Sky Bet League Two campaign this Saturday as they make the journey south to face Colchester United.
Following the convincing opening day victory against Cambridge United at Vale Park, the manager insists the Valiants will go to the Jobserve Community Stadium in confident mood looking to make it two wins in succession.
The U's kicked off their season with a hard-earned point away to Notts County last weekend, and Aspin knows that John McGreal's men will be stern opposition.
He said: "You would love to have that momentum continue for several games, but every game is different and it will be a tough test against a team that I expect to be challenging at the top end of the table.
"We have to be positive and we have got to play to our strengths because they will want to push us back, but we are not going there to sit deep - we have to be positive ourselves.
"It's always a good feeling when you win a game and when you win more, that will build. When you bring in new players, getting that first victory is vital as it shows they are capable of doing it.
"That is what Saturday proved, that the team are certainly capable of winning games at this level. However, it's only one game. We need to be consistent if we want to be successful and we have got to do that on a regular basis."
With the trip to Essex marking the beginning of Vale's season away from home, Aspin wants to see his team perform to the same standards as what they display during their home fixtures, and he admits that he will not approach matches differently away from Burslem.
Tom Pope and Ricky Miller both got off the mark in front of goal last time out, and the manager is keen to see his newly formed squad supplying the forwards so that they can be on the end of chances during the campaign.
"I think you would expect to be on the front foot more during your home games, but the basic rules still apply. You want to try and be solid in every game and you must have a threat going forward," he said.
"We are certainly not going to go to any game and just sit back - sometimes you get pushed further back and the opposition dictate how you play yourselves, but we definitely won't be sending a team out to shut up shop.
"I don't think we can afford to do that and I want us to be creating chances for the forwards. We know what Tom Pope's strength is and he needs crosses into the box, but Ricky Miller is different and you can play more into his feet.
"They want to score goals but they won't be able to if we don't make opportunities, so we have to play our own game. If we come up against a team that are better than us, you have to hold your hands up at times, but we have to go into every game thinking we can get a result."