Despite Colchester United’s playing resources being stretched to their limits, Chris Porter knows how important it is for their players to not take their foot off the gas in the vital run-in to the end of the League Two season.

The 33-year-old former Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic and Derby County striker understands the pressures that a push for a play-off position can place on teams in situations like the U’s find themselves at the moment.

Even though the U’s lost 2-0 at Crewe on Saturday, they are just four points shy of the League Two play-off places ahead of this weekend’s home game against Luton Town.

Their squad is being pushed by a horrendous injury list, with Sammie Szmodics being the latest to be sidelined after breaking his leg at Gresty Road at the weekend, but Porter knows their players have to have a specific mentality as they head into their final eight games of the regular season.

The striker, who has scored 11 League Two goals this season, said it is important that players approach each game as if it was one being played in August as opposed to the cauldron of the run-in to claim promotion glory.

He said: “I have had quite a few situations like this.

“I’ve been in play-offs quite a few times and there have been times when I’ve just missed out as well so I do have that experience.

“I will be giving younger lads in the squad all the advice I can to try and help them along the way.

“You just have to go into these games in exactly the same way as you would for games at the start of the season.

“You can’t drop off your effort levels at all.

“There isn’t much between teams in this league and it often shows in the stats that the team that has the most running gets the result.

"So we have to work harder and try harder than the other teams and I know we will get results.”

Colchester will be relieved to get back on home turf on Saturday when the Hatters come to visit as their form at the Weston Homes Community Stadium has been markedly better than on the road.

They haven’t won an away game since December 31 at Stevenage and, while their home form has been keeping them in the hunt for the play-offs Porter admits that it is something that is confusing.

“I don’t know what it is to be fair,” he added. “We’ve been very good at home and some of the away performances have been good but we just haven’t got the results.

“It might just be one of those seasons where it doesn’t go for us away from home.

“It’s not as though we’re going into games any less confident than we are at home.

“We have exactly the same attitude at home and away so I don’t really know why it is.”

“We have been good at home, though, and hopefully that will continue.”