Promotion is the ultimate goal

We're in a very good place at the moment, with the form that we’re in.

It’s an enjoyable team to be a part of and everyone’s pulling in the right direction.

It’s not just the lads who are in the starting XI; it’s also the players who are on the bench and those who aren’t.

We’ve all played our part in the results and that’s what has contributed to the positive run at form that we’re enjoying at the moment.

The table is looking very good for us, with us sitting in fifth place in League Two ahead of our game at Chesterfield on Saturday.

We’re a point off third place and the top three has to be our main aim.

Promotion is the ultimate goal and it would be easier for us if we do it automatically but however we do it, we’ll take it.

I have huge respect for Joe

We’ve got another good away game to look forward to this weekend.

Then we will quickly move on to New Year’s Day and what should be a cracking game against Cambridge United, at the Community Stadium.

Games against Cambridge are always ones to look forward to and hopefully there will be a good crowd there and it’ll be a good atmosphere.

It’ll be a quick turnover of games from the Chesterfield game and we’ll have to look after ourselves over the coming days but we’re looking forward to.

Joe Dunne will be back at the Community Stadium in his current role as Cambridge’s assistant manager and I’ll be forever grateful to him.

He gave me the chance to come to Colchester in the first place and put a lot of faith in me – I have a huge amount of respect for him.

He’s obviously still connected to the club as his son Louis plays for us and he will always have a special feeling for Colchester but that will go out of the window for 90 minutes on Monday.

IT was a very good win for us at Crawley and it was nice to give our fans a late Christmas present.

Our assistant manager Steve Ball summed up our performance perfectly when he described it as ‘efficient’.

We were efficient in every area and Crawley didn’t really look like threatening us too often.

It helped us follow up our point at home to Port Vale last Saturday.

That game was an example of teams coming to the Community Stadium and upping their game and I think in that respect, it’s going to get progressively harder at home.

Teams are coming to us with a huge amount of respect but we got something from the game.

Listen, we don’t mind the odd point at home when we’re winning away from home, as we have been.

Match made in heaven

Sammie Szmodics and Mika Mandron are working particularly well together, at the moment.

They’ve now scored 20 goals between them before the halfway mark in the season and that’s a great achievement.

Sam is not overly exerting the vital energy that you need at this time of year, with the amount of games that we have and he’s focusing on what he gives to us like goals.

He’s reaping the rewards of all of the hard work that he’s put in over the years and the club have put in, too.

But the boys around them in other areas are also doing a great job and the key is to keep that up and do it consistently.

Harry's heroics

For Harry Kane to break the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year is an incredible effort.

And to score 56 goals for both Spurs and England in 2017, two more than Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi, is phenomenal.

To break the Premier League record by scoring another hat-trick for the second successive game is quite a feat and I’m sure he’s going to go from strength to strength.

He just scores goals for fun and he’s so, so clinical with his finishing.

He certainly has a massive future ahead of him and he will be vital for England when we head to Russia for the World Cup, next summer, so it’s crucial that he’s fit and firing on all cylinders for that.

Unfortunately, I missed out on facing him when we played Tottenham in the FA Cup a couple of seasons ago due to injury.

But I’m sure I played against him when he was coming through the youth ranks at Spurs and I was at Chelsea – naturally, I’d like to think I kept him out!

Watch out Tom!

I had a great Christmas and was lucky enough to get some fantastic presents.

There was a recurring golfing theme with the gifts I received, which I was very grateful for.

It was my first Christmas as a married man and my wife got me a very nice golf GPS tracking system, which I’m sure I’ll be putting to good use when I find myself in woodland and bushes in the coming months!

I regularly play against my U’s team-mate Tom Eastman, who already has a GPS system.

I’m sure it’s been aiding his game when I’ve played him, so we’ll see what happens now.

New Year promise

It’s been a great festive season so far and it’ll just be a quiet one for me on New Year’s Eve, as it’s important I get some rest before our big match against Cambridge the following day.

I’m really looking forward to what I hope will be a very successful 2018 and I’m really excited about where we will be, come May.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year in advance for next week.