U’S boss Tony Humes wants the Colchester Community Stadium to get right behind their team as they continue their fight for survival against Swindon Town.

Colchester’s bid to stave off relegation received a huge boost at the weekend as they turned around a 2-1 deficit, scoring twice in the ten minutes, to win 3-2 at Fleetwood.

They were helped by fellow strugglers Crawley Town collapsing in the final five minutes to lose 4-3 at Peterborough.

The U’s are now just two points from safety, but their game in-hand tonight against Town could be a struggle.

After resting seven players at Preston on Saturday, Town boss Mark Cooper has vowed to field a stronger side in Essex as he looks to get his side in a rhythm for the play-off first leg.

Should Town come out on top it would Humes’ side needing several results to go their way on the final day and a win over Preston, who themselves need a win to secure the second automatic promotion spot.

It is a predicament leaving the U’s in desperate need of a bit help from the stands, not something the Colchester Community Stadium is particularly renowned for.

“We want the atmosphere to be very positive for the players,” said the Colchester boss.

“We want it to be done in the right way and to get behind the players and give them as much as we can to get the opportunity to get the three points.

“It’s in our hands and we have to go into the Swindon game with the belief that we can get something out of it.

“We’ve said all along that it’s about ourselves and what we do.”

Playing two of the division’s top four is not the ideal pair of fixtures to end the season if you are struggling at the wrong end of the table. Humes’ focus is purely on tonight and he is only thinking about the final day once Swindon have left town.

“We’ve had a lot of football in the last four or five weeks,” he added.

“There have been a lot of games and midweek games and we have to make sure that the players focus on the preparation for Swindon, first and foremost.

“After that, we’ll look beyond that but the focus is on Swindon.”