Robbie Cowling has urged Colchester United followers to put the Layer Road years behind them.

And the U’s chairman wants them to embrace an exciting new era for the U’s.

Colchester are hoping for another bumper home crowd tomorrow for the visit of Huddersfield Town.

More than 7,000 packed into the stadium for the midweek victory over Charlton Athletic.

That was Colchester’s biggest midweek attendance for 38 years.

And the U’s average home crowd this season is the highest for a quarter of a century.

Cowling is respectful of the success the U’s enjoyed at their former stadium and the fondness in which it is regarded.

However, he is keen to see the town of Colchester now focus on the future.

He told the Gazette: “I do get a bit down when people talk about the Layer Road years.

“We had great times there and success but the statistics show we never had big crowds at Layer Road.

“We have to respect the past and what Colchester United have achieved.

“But have things ever been as good as they are for us now?

“The town has got to get over the myth of how great it was before.

“It’s a new era for Colchester United now.

“To get more than 7,000 there on Tuesday night was great and we have more now than we have ever had.

“There’s still a lot of work to do where we are now but we’re heading in the right direction.”

The Gazette is backing the U’s Target 10,000 campaign to fill the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

The U’s are riding high in fourth place in Coca-Cola League One.

And as part of their quest to get the stadium full, they will be making tickets available online for some of their big forthcoming games.

Cowling added: “We see at least four fixtures as sell-outs between now and the end of the season.

“They will be Southampton, Norwich City, Southend United and the last game of the season, against Leyton Orient.

“They will be big, big games so let’s create some sell-outs and get right behind the club.

“It was a really good performance against Charlton and those are the sort of nights we want.”