A big chance

IT’S a big opportunity for us against Cheltenham Town on Saturday, with none of the teams above us in action because of the FA Cup third round.

We can move as high as third or fourth in the table with a win and it’s a similar situation to our game at Swindon Town on a Friday night a few weeks ago, where we were able to lay down a challenge to the other teams around us by winning.

On that occasion, they stepped up to the task the following day but we can put the pressure on them again with a win.

It’s a great chance for us to climb the league, ahead of what promises to be a cracking game against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday week.

It feels like a lot longer than September since we played Cheltenham, at their place.

We lost 3-1 there and it was a hard day for us, up there.

We had a poor first half and Mika Mandron was sent off just after half-time – it was a bit of an off day for us.

We were inconsistent at that stage and we definitely owe them one.

It’s a chance for us to do some work on them over the next couple of days and take the game to them, on Saturday.

Drawing a line

WE’VE had two 0-0 draws in a row now - I thought it was a fair result at Chesterfield, last Saturday but I felt we just shaded the Cambridge game.

I had to make a save in the second half which was probably their best chance and it was a bit disappointing that we couldn’t go on and get that win.

You take a 0-0 draw away from home and it just shows you how far we’ve come that we’re disappointed not to beat Cambridge, as it was always going to be a tough game.

They’re a good, physical side with strong players and are in decent form at the moment but so are we and I’m sure they will have been pleased with the draw, at our place.

We changed our shape against Cambridge on New Year’s Day and that’s one of the big assets that we have.

Cole Kpekawa came into the defence for his first start in a while and I thought he did well.

He’s not had too many opportunities since he joined us from Barnsley but he’s fit and raring to go now.

It was a tough game for him to come into against Cambridge but he certainly contributed to our clean sheet.

The lads who aren’t in the team at the moment are still really contributing to the results that we’re getting and everyone is doing their bit.

It’s difficult for those who aren’t playing to have too many complaints but they’ve trained well and they’re staying fit.

We saw that against Cambridge, with Cole and Sean Murray coming in and doing well.

Bring on the games

I MUST admit, I felt a bit ropey after the Cambridge game.

I took a bit of an elbow from Leon Legge in the second half and I was quite pleased to be able to see out the rest of the game.

I’m feeling a lot better now though and raring to go for Cheltenham.

It’s been an intense period, with four games in the last nine days.

It’s tough mentally and physically but it’s something that I’ve really enjoyed and as players, we don’t like to just train, train, train.

We’re a fit, energetic and young squad at Colchester and all of the players involved worked very hard and contributed to a productive Christmas programme.

I’ve heard the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho talking about the busy schedule and I must say, the Premier League fixture list seems to have been more hectic than usual, over recent days.

Pep said the festive period is “going to kill the players” after Manchester City’s game against Watford was their tenth in a month.

Spurs and West Ham play again tonight for example, having both played 48 hours earlier on Tuesday night.

The TV plays a part in that and other European countries such as Germany and Spain are in the middle of winter breaks which they feel will help their international players, going into this summer’s World Cup.

One in a million

SO Preston North End player Kevin O’Connor won a million euros in a lottery raffle in Ireland, after his uncle bought a ticket for him.

I play the Euro Millions every weekend with a few friends but it’s never really come off for us – so far!

However, we do have enough in a small pot now to go out to dinner with!

Saying that, my friend who looks after the pot recently went out and bought a new car, so perhaps he’s not telling us something!

If I won the lottery, I’d probably spend the money on a lovely summer holiday with my wife, perhaps buy a massive house and pay the mortgage off and look after my family and friends.

I’m certainly not the kind of person to go on a massive spending spree and waste it all!

On the right note

I HEARD that music sales have seen their biggest rise in the UK for two decades, with most of it down to digital audio streaming.

I’ve used Spotify for a few years now and really enjoy getting my music, that way.

Apparently, the vinyl revival is continuing and some people still buy cassettes but I haven’t had any of those since the days when I recorded the chart show off the radio when I was a lot younger!

Points mean prizes

IT was interesting to hear England legend Gordon Banks talking about his famous save which denied Pele in the 1970 World Cup.

As a goalkeeper, you make lots of different saves and for me, it’s about important saves, in the context of a particular game or the league situation you’re in and those that have helped to have win the team points.

The best saves from a technical goalkeeping point of you often go under the radar.

People will tend to look at the more spectacular saves and they are the ones that stand out.

But it’s the ones that get you points that are vital, like the penalty save I made against Peterborough in the FA Cup a few years ago that ultimately paved the way for us winning the tie.