Colchester United midfielder Harry Pell's weekly Gazette column

That winning feeling

THE importance of our result at Port Vale makes it one of our best wins of the season.

It was a big three points that was needed and we got that winning feeling back.

On a personal note, it was great to score two goals and I made Griff play them five times on the coach on the way home, so that the boys could watch them again and again.

People might say we had a bit of luck along the way but I think that kind of thing evens itself out, over the course of a whole season.

It was a good day for us but it’s just one game out of 46 and now our minds are on playing Mansfield Town, on Saturday.

They beat Crawley Town 1-0 on Tuesday night.

I text my friend Ollie Palmer who plays for Crawley to try and gee him up as much as I could but Mansfield got a late winner.

They’re definitely going for a top-three finish and you can see that by the signings they’ve made, bringing in Ajose and Grant.

Mansfield have made their intentions known with those signings but that’s what we’ve been up against all season and it’s something we embrace.

If we can get some business done in this month’s transfer window then fantastic; if not, we’ll roll our sleeves up and go about our business as we always do.

I desperately want the chairman to sign Cristiano Ronaldo!

But seriously, we know that we’re up against some bigger budgets in our division and we’ll keep plugging away, as we have all season.

I don’t pay too much attention to what other teams do really.

I’ve always said that it’s all about what we do and we’ve had two days of really good training already this week.

Safe hands

AS a Chelsea fan, I have fond memories of Petr Cech’s career and he’s been one of the best goalkeepers around.

He’s announced this week that he’s going to retire and he’s had a fantastic career.

He was part of a very successful team at Chelsea and it was good to see Jose Mourinho come out and say some nice things about him.

Cech is definitely one of the best goalkeepers to have ever played in the Premier League.

Is he the best? It’s difficult to say because the game has changed a lot over the years and so has the role of goalkeeper.

I don’t think you’d have seen someone like Peter Schmeichel do a Cruyff turn in his own box, unlike the likes of Ederson and Alisson these days.

Talking of goalkeepers, I thought the save Rene Gilmartin made for us just before half-time at Port Vale was the best I’ve seen this season – in all levels of football.

I was certain that it was a goal and fair play to him for making it, because it was really important.

It can be difficult sometimes to be a player and a coach but Reg is the ultimate pro and he’s brilliant to have around.

Don't cross the line

IT didn’t really surprise me to hear about the alleged bust-up between Fulham team-mates Aleksandar Mitrovic and Aboubakar Kamara.

Apparently, they had a row in the club’s training ground gym and it sounds as though that situation came from the recent penalty incident, where Kamara took the ball from designated penalty taker Mitrovic, before missing from the spot.

It’s not unusual for these things to happen, at football clubs.

I’ve certainly experienced them – and been involved in them - in changing rooms before but as long as it happens for the right reasons and nobody over-steps the mark, I think it can be beneficial.

There is a line that you don’t cross, though and you need to put it to bed as soon as possible.

You don’t want to see players fighting but players care about their livelihoods and their careers and people demand things from one another.

It doesn’t matter who they are or how old they are.

If someone is hungry to achieve, they’ll do everything they can to get to where they want to be.

Murray's misery

IT’S sad that Andy Murray’s exit from the Australian Open this week could prove to be the last ever match of his career, because of his hip injury.

I saw his interview and you could tell how much it all means to him.

To reach that level of sport, you have to dedicate pretty much your whole life to it and make it your number one priority.

When it all comes to an end, it has to be so hard.

When you’re so used to winning, it’s tough for those sort of characters to accept that it might be over.

One of my best friends is Aaron Downes, who is currently the assistant manager at Torquay United.

I know when he retired, he said it’s the not training every day and not having that buzz that makes it tough.

People have not really accounted for that in the past but the good thing now is that the PFA do a great job these days and offer a lot more support to players.

It’s a short career and as an older pro in the squad now, we do make it clear to the younger boys that it’s a short career and you have to make the most of it.

I spy

THE spy row involving Leeds United is rumbling on and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Their head coach Marcelo Bielsa has admitted sending a member of staff to spy on a Derby County training session, before the match between the two teams.

I think it has to be classed as cheating and it baffles me that more has not been done already.