Miracle-worker Steve Whitton is refusing to rest on his laurels after guiding Colchester United to relative safety in the middle of the Division Two table.

The ambitious U's boss and his Layer Road squad have worked their socks off to lift the club alongside Oldham and Wycombe Wanderers on 40 points from a perilous situation at the end of October, when they were bottom of the table with only seven points.

Whitton said within weeks of being appointed to replace previous boss Mick Wadsworth: "Division Two is so tight I believe we are fighting in a mini-league of ten or so teams to steer clear of danger.

"It is my aim to make sure we go out to top that group!"

The U's players have remarkably achieved their manager's goal with 14 games still in hand, but Whitton was in no mood to sit back and soak up the glory. He said on Monday: "I take great heart from the position we are in.

"It doesn't surprise me because we've got some great players in the side, but as far as I'm concerned we've only started the job. If the season ended today I would be very happy, but there's still a long way to go and so much can still go wrong.

"To be really successful we must all strive to improve even more. The dressing room was in a mess when I took over, but we've got some great characters in the squad and there are no limits to where we can go from here."

Whitton said the U's proved on Saturday with another tremendous win over promotion-chasing Stoke City that his team is heading in the right direction. He added: "The credit for our success has got to go down to the players.

"It is no secret we are not one of the biggest payers in the Football League, but spirit in the camp is sky high and everyone is working so hard for each other.

"Some players are doing so much for me that doesn't come naturally to them and that's a tremendous plus for the team,

"I'm so pleased with the way we are all trying to do things and it's great to know we are doing what we set out to do."

Whitton also heaped praise on his players for the way they stuck to their task in beating Stoke on Saturday.

He said: We defended brilliantly and took our chance when it came thanks to a great ball from Lomana Tresor Lua Lua and a great finish by Steve McGavin."

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