Crawley Town’s Marvin Elliott eyes up return at Colchester

Having missed the last four games through injury, the former Bristol City star could make his first appearance since scoring in their 5-1 drubbing Barnsley game on February 14.

Crawley Town interim manager Dean Saunders said: “It will be a tough game at Colchester away from home as they are down there with us but we have to make sure we take the momentum we have got from the performances and turn them into results.

“It’s such a big game for both teams - a six-pointer - and we’ve got to start winning games really.

“We don’t want to give Colchester any points but a draw is not a disaster becuase of where the two teams are in the league but we are looking to win - it would be a massive three points if we can win.

“Confidence levels have gone up. We’ve played a lot of big teams in the league and it doesn’t really matter how we play as long as we get points in the bag.

“The points matter either way. We can damage the opposition as well as helping ourselves.

“Both teams realise they don’t want to lose. If you go with that mentality you tend to keep the ball away from your goal as much as you can in games like this.

“We’ll be relying on our attacking players to create chances and finish them when they get the chances.”

Colchester United assistant manager Richard Hall said: “I played against Dean several times and he was a real handful, just because of his movement.

“His work-rate was outstanding and his goal ratio was very good.

“He’s done quite well in his managerial career and he’s trying to build a team that will survive in this division, as we are.

“Crawley have changed nine of their players, compared to the team that we played against on December 28.

“They’re a lot more physical and a big team and they’ll cause us problems with their size and power.

“We’ll take it one game at a time and have full concentration on Crawley on Saturday.

“With them being in the same kind of position as us in the table, we have to look to try and get three points.