Colchester United boss Aidy Boothroyd believes his side have firmly put their miserable run of form behind them with a 3-0 win over high-flying Swindon.

“WE’RE BACK!”

Colchester United boss Aidy Boothroyd believes his side have firmly put their miserable run of form behind them with a 3-0 win over high-flying Swindon.

The shock result sees the Robins – who had conceded just one goal in their previous six games - drop out of the automatic places.

In contrast, Colchester’s win – their first in nine attempts – has seen their rapidly fading promotion ambitions rejuvenated.

Three points, combined with Huddersfield’s defeat at Brentford, sees the U’s move back level on points with the sixth-placed Yorkshire side.

“This is a huge result for us – it really is massive,” said a beaming Boothroyd, whose side rode their luck at times throughout the first half as Swindon came close on a series of occasions.

“It was a hard fought win, but in the end I thought we deserved it. Sometimes things turn on little events in games and we’ll take what we can after the luck we’ve had recently.”

He continued: “It’s a big result for us because Swindon are a top side.

“I was worried because in the first 15 minutes we looked nervous and tense – you could feel it. We hung on in there though and that’s what you have to do when you are in a bit of a slump.

“We had to grind out the result against a very good team. The last 10 minutes were the longest of my life and the relief was there at the end, you could see it and feel it.

“We now go into the next game full of confidence. I definitely feel that we’re back.”

Colchester travel to fellow promotion rivals Charlton tomorrow night. Phil Parkinson’s side are fifth in the table and are now just six points above the U’s following their 1-0 defeat at Southampton on Saturday.

“We’ll hopefully look back at the end of the season and see this as a defining moment,” said Boothroyd. “But that will only be the case if we build on this on Tuesday night and for the rest of the games.”