Colchester United boss, John McGreal, was indebted to some positive input from Portsmouth manager Paul Cook during the U’s 13-game winless run from earlier in the season.

The two men are good friends, from their playing days at Tranmere Rovers.

But not surprisingly, there has been no contact between them over the last few weeks, in the build-up to this Saturday’s big League Two showdown at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

“I know Paul Cook very well,” explained McGreal during this lunchtime’s press conference at Florence Park, Tiptree, following the morning training session.

McGreal continued: I played with Paul at Tranmere, and he provided a shoulder to lean on earlier this season when we went through a bit of a tricky spell – he phoned up and gave me words of advice, and words of comfort, and it’s going to be a great game this weekend.

“There should be huge following for both teams, and it’s a big game.

“But there’s been no contact between the two of us for the last two weeks, because we’ve both been gearing up for this game,” added McGreal.

The U’s are currently two places and three points adrift of the play-offs, while Portsmouth moved into the top three with a 2-0 away win at Crawley in midweek.