COLCHESTER Rugby Club head coach Anthony O’Riordan wants his side to finish their first National League Three season on a high.

The Mill Road club have impressed in their maiden year at that level, following their promotion last year.

Colchester, who host fifth-placed Hertford tomorrow, are ninth after claiming ten league wins so far this season and O’Riordan is targeting a mid-table finish for the side, with four games remaining.

O’Riordan said: “My own personal goal for the season was to finish fourth.

“The run we had in the run-up to Christmas put that target to bed, so I think a mid-table finish is our realistic target.

“The players are the ones who have got us into this position in our first National Three season and they’ve done themselves and the club proud.

“I think they’ve put Colchester Rugby Club on the map and we’ve done well.

“When you look at all of our teams and age groups, I think Colchester Rugby Club has to be one of the most successful in the country.

“We set out a vision of how we wanted things to go.

“It’s not something that we just did off the cuff.

“We lost five games on the bounce in the run-up to Christmas and it’s natural that there’s always that thing in the back of your mind that makes you wonder if you have the right goals.

“But you have to stick to your beliefs.

“We’re not naïve enough to thing you can just stick rigidly by your philosophy and not change them though – it’s about having your core principles and being able to adapt.

“We’re targeting at least three wins from our remaining four games – and if we do lose one, we want it to be a bonus point loss.

“I’m confident that we have the side with the momentum that we have to finish the season on a high.”

Colchester were beaten 36-22 by Hertford last November, which was part of a losing league run for the Mill Road side earlier in the campaign.

O’Riordan said: “When we played at Hertford earlier in the season, we felt a bit hard done-by by a few refereeing decisions and we were in a bit of a darker place back then, having lost a few games.”