Colchester United manager Tony Humes is backing his players to rise to the challenge in their showdown with Preston North End on Sunday lunchtime.

The U's are expecting their biggest crowd of the season at the Weston Homes Community Stadium for their game with the Lilywhites, which will determine whether or not they will stay in League One next season.

Even though their home record has been poor this season, Colchester have performed well in front of bigger crowds.

And boss Humes is hoping that the same will happen again, on the final day of the season.

He said: “When there’s been a big crowd in the season, the players have risen to it.

“We’ve seen that in our home games against the likes of Bristol City, Leyton Orient and Swindon Town, on Tuesday night.

“That sort of backing can really help us on Sunday.

“We’ve beaten the top team in Bristol City at home this season and also performed well against the likes of Swindon and MK Dons.

“It’s something that we’ll be reinforcing to the players.

“We know that we can raise our game against the biggest clubs in the division and there’s no reason why we can’t do that again on Sunday.

“We were underdogs against Bristol City earlier in the season and no-one expected us to get a result against them, so it’s something the players will relish."

For a three-page preview of Colchester's crucial clash with Preston North End, see Friday's Daily Gazette.