Sammie Szmodics has admitted that Colchester United’s next three games will probably “define the whole season.”

The Essex club have been stuck in the relegation zone for virtually the whole of the last three months, and three defeats on the trot, in the last eight days, have left Tony Humes’ men in deep trouble.

The U’s are currently three points adrift of safety, going into the last 11 games of the season, following Coventry’s 1-1 home draw against Bradford last night.

They entertain the only two clubs below them in the table, Crawley and Yeovil, in their next two matches, before travelling to mid-table Gillingham on Saturday week. It is a vital period.

“The results are not coming our way at the moment, and we have three big games coming up which could define our season,” admitted Szmodics.

“We’ve got to do it at home, and we are not looking at anything else other than getting nine points from the next three games.

“They are teams struggling, and I’m just gutted that we didn’t managed to get a point at Rochdale (on Saturday), which I think we deserved to do.

“I certainly don’t want to be a League Two footballer next season.

“I’m loving it in League One, We have 11 games left, and it’s (relegation) in the back of the boys’ minds. We address it, but we then forget about it and just look forward to Crawley on Saturday,” added Szmodics.

Attacking midfielder Szmodics, a product of the U’s Academy, has really come-of-age this season.

In fact, the 19-year-old chalked up his 27th appearance of the campaign, during the 2-1 defeat at Rochdale – it was a match where he peppered the target with various shots.

“It was a much improved display from last Tuesday (1-0 home defeat to Notts County). We all put in a shift and we had a good game,” said Szmodics.

“I had a few chances, but they weren’t easy chances, being from a long way out. I wish I’d taken one of them, but I’m happy with the performance, just not the result.

“I guess it’s something to build on. As we said at half-time at Rochdale, we’re losing but we are playing well. We just couldn’t get the equaliser.”