COLCHESTER United legend Kem Izzet admits winning is all that matters for his former club now, as they attempt to retain their League Two status.

The U’s are four points above the relegation zone with five games remaining, ahead of their vital home clash with Walsall on Saturday teatime.

Colchester, who have won only one of their last 25 games, are preparing for back-to-back games at the JobServe Community Stadium, with a crucial fixture against fellow strugglers Southend United on the horizon next Tuesday night.

But U’s promotion-winner Izzet, who made more than 400 appearances for the club between 2001 and 2013, says it is imperative that they focus solely on beating Walsall this weekend, before contemplating their huge Essex derby.

Izzet said: “It’s a bit of a cliché but it’s almost like a cup final, where you just worry about the three points at hand straight away.

“They’re at a stage where draws aren't even any good to them now, I don’t think.

“They desperately need a win.

“What they don’t want to do is lose to Southend; a draw against them wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“But they need a win from somewhere – they’re four points away from it.

“Southend are down there for a reason because they’re obviously worse than Colchester are, at the moment.

“But they need a win and at the moment, it’s just where is it going to come from.

“The Southend game is so important for them to try and win but first and foremost, they need to just try and concentrate on the Walsall game.

“If the worst came to the worse and Southend won at Exeter, they’d still be behind Colchester.

“It’s not like they’d overtake them and Colchester would drop into the bottom two.

“There’s nothing to concern themselves about there.

“It’s just a matter of trying to keep the boys positive, because I don’t think there’s much to be positive about over there at the moment.

“It’s such a dire run of form and they need to try and get the best out of them.

“But it’s going to be difficult, that’s for sure.

“You just hope that they get themselves out of it – that’s all you can do, at the moment.

“It’s difficult to try and find positives at times because they’ve had such a bad run but I suppose all you can do is just focus on the next game.

“With the manager being new again, it’s a case of let’s just wipe the slate clean.”

Hayden Mullins is attempting to steer Colchester to safety, having taken over as interim boss last month following the departure of Wayne Brown.

The U’s are without a win in ten matches and former midfielder Izzet admits he hates seeing his old club struggle.

“It’s not nice to see where they are,” said U’s Hall of Famer Izzet, who helped Colchester secure promotion to the Championship under Phil Parkinson, in 2006.

“A lot has gone over there that we don’t all agree with, at times.

“It’s been getting worse and worse and worse and the amount of managerial changes they’ve had is crazy and that can’t look too good for the players because they must be thinking ‘what’s going on?’.

“Some continuity usually helps but there’s been none of it over there and it looks like it’s upset the apple-cart a little bit, because results haven’t been great.

“I feel really sorry for Wayne (Brown).

“I know him really well and I’m good friends with Wayne.

“He’s gone in there and he’s tried his hardest and he’s tried to stay positive with everything.

“Results weren’t great but performances were getting better and better and by all accounts, everyone was agreeing but all of a sudden he’s gone.”

Izzet left Colchester in September 2013, bringing down the curtain on more than a decade of loyal service for the club.

He played with the likes of current squad members Tom Eastman and Tom Lapslie, during his latter days with the U’s.

“I don’t know too much about the boys over there now to be fair, I know one or two of them,” said Izzet, who recently had a spell in charge of Isthmian League premier division outfit Brightlingsea Regent.

“When I knew them, they weren’t leaders as such.

“They were quite quiet as individuals so I can only speak for the ones that I know and what I knew of them.

“Now’s not the time to be quiet; you need to start demanding of players and making sure that they’re pulling their weight.

“You need to be someone who influences by doing stuff and if it means saying out and working a bit harder and doing a bit extra and showing others, whatever takes to get out of it, that’s what you need to do.

“You just hope and pray that they’re willing to do that extra bit.

“I’ve seen tweets from the boys about cup finals but it’s come to the point now where you should stop saying it and start doing it.

“I’m not a big fan of writing stuff all over social media.

“It’s easy to hide behind a screen and write stuff; go and show that you mean it, 11 or 16 of you collectively.”

Izzet was used to playing in big derby matches during his time at Colchester, playing against the likes of Ipswich Town, Southend and Norwich on plenty of occasions.

The 40-year-old admits the U’s players will need to keep their cool when they face the Shrimpers next week – but must also show plenty of desire.

Izzet added: “They have to keep their focus but you also want to see some passion from the players.

“Whilst you need 11 players on the pitch, you want to see some passion in your players and from what I’ve read on media and social media, there’s been a distinct lack of passion from players.

“If you can’t get up for a relegation battle against your local rivals, then you are in real big trouble.

“It should be a really easy one to get up for, if they’ve got the right players over there so time will tell I suppose.”