Colchester United keeper Sam Walker is unsure whether Doncaster Rovers’ guaranteed promotion to League One will work in the U’s favour, or against them, when the two sides meet at the Weston Homes Community Stadium on Good Friday.
The U’s produced what Walker described as “the best performance of the season” against high-fliers Stevenage last Saturday, in a 4-0 home win.
Now John McGreal’s men will be looking to continue their excellent home form against a Doncaster side who wrapped up promotion, with five games to spare, following a 1-0 win over Mansfield last weekend.
“Who knows whether Doncaster already being promoted will work in our favour?” admitted Walker.
“It could go one of two ways. Obviously they are going to have a bit of a celebration and enjoy themselves during the week, as they should, because they have done very well.
“They could play with a lot of freedom, without any pressure on them. That’s often when teams can express themselves, so we can only focus on ourselves.
“It’s a big weekend for us, and to come out of the next two games with a decent points tally will set us up well,” added Walker, who was also referring to the away fixture at Morecambe on Monday.
Walker continued: “It’s so nice, personally for me and the other guys who have been at the club for some time, to have made this stadium such a fortress.
“We’ve got the top two teams (Doncaster and Plymouth) still to come here and we are full of belief and confidence that we can get into them.
“We’ve taken all the knock-backs (injuries), and we do perform well in the big games. We’re full of confidence that we can make the play-offs.”
Ex-Chelsea trainee Walker kept his 11th clean-sheet of the season against Stevenage, and has been ever-present in the league this term.
“It was exactly what we were after, continuing our excellent form,” said Walker, with regards the win over Stevenage.
“For me, that was the best performance of the season, we were outstanding in all departments. We took the game away from Stevenage in the first half and then managed it in the second half, so it was pretty much the complete performance.
“It was a great way to bounce back from the defeat at Notts County.
“We knew inside that it was a big game and it has put us right back in the mix.
“We were buoyant after seeing the league table in the dressing room, and it’s given us a big lift for Friday’s game against a Doncaster side.”
The U’s are just two points adrift of the play-offs.
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