THE pressure of promotion has caused many a team to stutter these past few weeks.

You don’t need me to tell you that if only the U’s had turned at least one of the sorry defeats into three points, then they would be in the driving seat for the play-offs.

Only Forest Green Rovers are grabbing the bull by the horns with a strong finish; even the mighty Lincoln are easy going champions recently. Let’s hope that continues!

The U’s will need to win at Lincoln next week after hopefully beating another team feeling the stress at the top, MK Dons, tomorrow afternoon, where the blue and white numbers attending are shaping up to be rather impressive from the U’s faithful.

It can only help the team to have a strong following behind them for their final home game, especially when so much is at stake.

I do still think that the belated Newport v Oldham game next Tuesday will have a huge bearing on our fate.

I appreciate one of them had a long cup run but I always thought that the EFL wanted a clean week leading up to the final games. Possible unfair advantage?

Let’s bag the three points first though and then worry about next week.

At Stadium MK before Christmas, I thought that the U’s played their best football of the season so far.

Rarely do you see a football team work that hard for victory as our players did that afternoon.

I was utterly impressed and Tom Lapslie was incredible from memory. Can they replicate it? Let’s hope so.

Yeovil has to be put down as another opportunity lost for the U’s, especially with other results going in our favour.

Even with a referee named after U’s legend Peter Wright, we could not prevail.

Dillon Barnes' chance to be a hero over the next week has been squandered, so it'll be up to the lesser seen Ethan Ross to repel the masses and be a new hero.

I was pleased for Tom Eastman and his important equaliser. Sadly our forwards are not being so lucky with their chances recently, bar Frank Nouble's easy one against Grimsby last Friday, although it's not for want of trying.

Perhaps Mr Eastman deserves a run up front?

Not much more to say really. It's a two-game shoot out for the U's.

Somehow they will have to rise above the pressure, find a way to relax and enjoy their football again, then they'll re-engage with the wonderful form that they had at the beginning of the season.

No easy task and they'll need all of the encouragement possible from their fans if they are to pull it off, so thank you if you are coming along to cheer them on.

Best of luck to John McGreal and the players tomorrow. Let's see lots of blue and white amongst the fans and as a back up, don't forget the lucky underwear please!

Jon Burns, Colchester United Supporters Association chairman