Chris Lewington could be excused for feeling down in the dumps, after what has happened to him at Colchester United this season, but the opposite is true.

Lewington’s confidence remains sky-high, and he is looking forward to making his home debut – if Sam Walker fails to come through a fitness test – in a crunch League One game against Scunthorpe United this afternoon.

Recruited from Dagenham & Redbridge last summer, ‘keeper Lewington has spent virtually the whole campaign sitting on the bench, as an unused substitute, watching U’s No. 1 Sam Walker enjoy another good season between the sticks.

Lewington did make one appearance, in the first week of the season, conceding four goals in a 4-0 drubbing at Charlton in the League Cup.

But he did not make his long-awaited U’s league debut until Tuesday night, in a disastrous 6-0 defeat at play-off chasing Chesterfield.

Despite such a miserable U’s league debut – he was given the chance due to Walker’s knee injury – Lewington cannot wait to make amends against Iron.

“I’m a goalkeeper, so I’ve got to be confident,” insisted Lewington,

“If you don’t believe in yourself, then who is going to believe in you?

“We believe it 100% that we will beat the drop this season. If we don’t believe it, then what’s the point? You might as well give up now.

“Results elsewhere went our way on Tuesday night, so why can’t we go on and win our next four games?

“It’s nice to have a game to play so close, so that we can bounce back. It’s a new game, and a new challenge.

“Three of our last four games are at home. We know what we have got to do, we’ll be positive and get a good outcome,” added Lewington.

The U’s are three points adrift of safety, going into these last four games. They have one remaining away fixture, at Fleetwood, and three home matches against Scunthorpe, Swindon and Preston.

Lewington was powerless to prevent Chesterfield from steam-rolling to victory on Tuesday night.

The 26-year-old Londoner was perhaps culpable for the Spireites’ fourth goal, with Dan Gardner’s shot eluding his grasp, but was otherwise left exposed by his over-run defence.

“It can be tough, after spending so long on the bench, but I’ve also played a few under-21 games this season, so I’ve gained experience,” continued Lewington.

“Tuesday was actually my first league game for 12 months. Last April was my last league game, so it’s been a long time.

“I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out how I would have wanted, but that’s life, you have to move on.

“I had a couple of saves to make, but that’s your job as a goalkeeper. It just didn’t quite work out for me.”