Craig Slater insists Colchester United can make the play-offs
Craig Slater shooting and scoring the winner at Luton on Boxing Day
Craig Slater, who has been such a hit at Colchester United since his summer move from Kilmarnock, believes that the U’s can gate-crash the League Two play-offs this season.
The U’s are up to 10th in the table, following Slater’s cool finish on 83 minutes at Luton Town on Boxing Day.
After a miserable run of 13 games without a win, in all competitions, the U’s are suddenly one of the in-form teams in the division following 13 points from a possible 15 in their last five fixtures.
“It’s a weird one. I think we always knew that when we had the blip, we were miles better than what the results were showing,” explained Slater.
“It was frustrating, and I don’t think anyone could put their finger on it.
“But going into the last five games, confidence is building. We look to have a solid foundation at the back, and that then gives us the impetus going forward.
“And when we’ve had chances, we have taken them.It’s all about momentum, and it’s all about confidence.
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“As far as how far we can go this season – there’s no reason why we can’t try and make the play-offs. Who knows what can happen?
“There’s still plenty of games left, and we can continue climbing ourselves up the table.
“Today was a massive game, and we knew how big it was to get the three points against a team above us in the table.
“It shows what we can achieve. We were in despair after the games at (high-fliers) Plymouth and Doncaster, because we were miles the better team in those games, without getting the results.
“But that’s all changed now, and we are taking our chances,” added Slater.
The U’s 22-year-old midfielder certainly lit up Monday’s tight game with his superb late finish.
“I was just delighted to see it go in,” confirmed Slater.
“There were that many bodies in the box, but I managed to find the bottom corner, and I think that rounded off a great, hard-fought win.
“It was a very tight game, and there was always a chance that one goal would win it.
“I thought we played some really good stuff, to be fair, and we created some clear-cut chances. Both teams were frustrated but we managed to nick it.”
