For Colchester United skipper, David Fox, today’s home game against Preston (12.15pm kick-off), boils down to one simple equation – the U’s have to win.

The U’s have to beat Preston, and hope that results elsewhere go their way, to avoid relegation on this final day of the regular season.

“It’s probably our most straightforward match of the season, in terms of what is expected of us,” explained Fox.

“The only option for us is to win the match, and I’m looking forward to it.

“If we don’t win, then we are down. We are not looking at any other results. It doesn’t matter what happens elsewhere.

“If we win and still get relegated, then that is over the course of 46 matches, rather than just one day.

“We had been looking at the last game, in the back of our minds, thinking that Preston might already be up, going into this weekend.

“I’m sure they would have hoped to have been up by now, but they’re not, so they need a result just as much as us. That should make for a very entertaining game.”

The U’s have been in the relegation zone for most of this season, and have been stuck in the bottom four since November, albeit for one week in late February.

So ‘pressure’ is something that the U’s have become used to dealing with, in their quest to stay up.

Fox confirmed: “We have been under a lot of pressure for different reasons all season, and I’m sure Preston have as well, at the top of the league.

“There is a lot of expectancy on them, but I for one will be keeping a calm head on what will be a big occasion for a lot of the younger lads.

“Many of them will not have played in front of so many fans at that ground (Community Stadium). It should be a really good atmosphere.

“And for us, it’s our last opportunity. If we do manage to stay up, it will be no mean achievement, because we have had no real respite from the bottom four – we’ve been in there for so long now.

“But we only need to be out of the bottom four for the 94th minute of the last game to get safe,” added Fox.