David Fox insists that there is “a massive belief” that Colchester United will escape from the clutches of relegation, for a third successive season.

The U’s celebrated only their second victory in the last 10 games, with a 2-0 success at Peterborough on Saturday.

Tony Humes’ men remain in the relegation zone, but they are now just one point adrift of safety, going into this Saturday’s home game against Walsall.

“This is a really good club, run by very good people, and we don’t want to let them down,” insisted Fox.

“We are up for the fight. There is still a lot of football to be played – 22 games – so there are still a lot of points up for grabs.

“There’s a massive belief that we can stay up in this division.

“There’s a lot of lads that really don’t want to go through relegation -– they don’t want that on their CV – and I’m one of them.”

Fox signed a new contract just a week earlier to keep him at the Weston Homes Community Stadium for the rest of the season.

And the U’s midfielder, who also recently took over the captaincy duties, was buzzing after second-half goals by Freddie Sears and Elliott Hewitt sunk Peterborough.

“It feels good. Days like this make it all worthwhile,” he explained.

“It’s brilliant picking up results like this (at Peterborough). Colchester United means a lot to me, and hopefully we can push on from this.

“Personally, I enjoy being captain. We’re a very young team and I do enjoy that other side of it, where I’m the experienced player trying to guide the boys as best I can.

“But there is some real talent here, and it’s about how you nourish it.”

The U’s have found themselves back in the bottom four, ever since enduring a dismal run of five straight league defeats during November and early December.

Away wins at basement dwellers Yeovil, before Christmas, and at Peterborough, have breathed new fire into the U’s quest to scramble away from the drop zone.

However, ex-Manchester United trainee Fox, 31, feels that the U’s recent performances have warranted more points.

“We’ve said, amongst ourselves, that the last few games we’ve been playing well, without getting the right results,” explained the midfielder. “But at Peterborough we’ve put a good performance in, and also got that result to back it up. Hopefully, it sends a message.

“We know we are in a real scrap, and that is the sort of performance you’ve got to put in when you are down there.

“Now we’ve got two massive home games, and we’ve got to kick on from this and use it as a real springboard,” concluded Fox.