Captain Chris Porter admits Colchester United’s clash with fellow play-off hopefuls Stevenage is a must- win game.

The U’s are five points adrift of the League Two play-off places heading into the vital match at the Weston Homes Community Stadium tomorrow, with six fixtures remaining.

John McGreal’s side face a Stevenage team who are currently fourth in the table and eight points above Colchester, having lost just one of their last 13 matches.

And with ground to make up on the top seven, striker Porter concedes that victory is essential for the U’s this weekend.

Porter said: “I definitely see it as a must-win game.

“I think that’s the case with every game for us now.

“It’s still in our hands so there’s no reason why we can’t do it.

“You often find that the team that does just sneak into the play-offs tends to go up because they have the momentum going forward.

“I’ve been in this situation before chasing the play-offs. There are quite a few teams between us and the players and we’re reliant on other results as well as our own but it’s in our hands as well if we get five or six wins.

“Stevenage have been on an incredible run.

“I think when we played them then, I came on at half-time after injury.

“They’ve turned things around since then and everyone you speak to says that they’ve been really good and are playing well.

“It’ll be a really tough game especially with the momentum they’ve got.”

Porter will go into the Stevenage game in good form, having scored three times in his last two games.

He is currently Colchester’s leading scorer with 14 goals and the former Sheffield United forward says he is looking to hit the net more, between now and the end of the season.

“I lost six weeks of the season to injury and missed quite a few games,” added Porter, who scored in Colchester’s 4-2 win at Stevenage on New Year’s Eve.

“But I’m pleased up to now and my goals to games ratio is quite good.

“It’s been good to get a few goals over the last few games and hopefully I’ll get many more between now and the end of the season.

“I’m pleased with the season up to now.

“I had a little bit of a spell out with injury, otherwise I would hopefully have had a few more goals but there’s still time to get a few more.

“I think my goal up at Notts County was one of the best I’ve scored in my career so far, especially as it was with my left foot – I was really pleased with that.”

“I don’t care where I score from as long as I score but it was good to find the net with a long-range shot.”