JOHN McGreal says Colchester United are ready for a ‘shoot-out’ to make the League Two play-offs ahead of their vital trip to struggling Yeovil Town today.

The U’s are one of three sides who lie two points off seventh-placed Exeter City with three games remaining, while Carlisle United are eighth and a point off the Grecians.

Colchester boosted their chances with a 1-0 win over Grimsby Town, on Good Friday.

U’s boss McGreal said: “It’s a bit of a shoot-out, as it always tends to be and we’re amongst it.

“Yeovil are scrapping for their lives but so are we in the other direction and it’s going to be interesting.

“This is where we want to be and we need to go and replicate it (the Grimsby performance).

“It’s going to be a game of a little bit of cat and mouse I would imagine but again, we’ll be looking to try and win a game of football.

“We’ll only realise how much of a confidence boost the (Grimsby) win was at Yeovil.

“We know there’s pressure from the outside but we also put pressure on ourselves, because we want to do well as a collective.

“We want to keep moving the club forward which we feel as though we are."

Meanwhile, McGreal has praised the performances of leading scorer Sammie Szmodics ahead of the Yeovil clash.

Szmodics has produced an impressive form of late and provided the assist for Frank Nouble's winning goal against Grimsby.

Szmodics has not scored in seven matches but boss McGreal says the former Stanway School pupil's goals will come, if he continues to put in the hard graft.

“Sammie has been here a long time, as we all have," said McGreal.

“I’ve been here for ten years and Sammie’s been here even longer.

“We love the club and we want the club to do well.

“The amount of running he did on a really warm day was off the wall (against Grimsby) and it’s unfortunate he hasn’t got his goal to show for it, after all of that hard work.

“But if he continues to put that hard work in, he’ll get his rewards."