COLCHESTER United boss Danny Cowley is urging his team to stay resolute after their 1-0 defeat at Notts County left their EFL status still unconfirmed for next season.

The U's are now three points above the relegation zone with two games to play, following their defeat at Meadow Lane and Sutton United's 2-2 draw with Crawley Town.

A late equaliser from Crawley denied Sutton a precious win, meaning the U's only need a point from their last two games to be absolutely sure of safety.

They also have a superior goal difference to Sutton.

READ MORE: Match report as Colchester are beaten at Notts County

Colchester host play-off chasing Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night before taking on Crewe Alexandra next Saturday in their final game of the season, with Sutton United visiting MK Dons.

Cowley said: "I want us to do it ourselves - I don't want anybody to do it for us.

"I don't care about Crawley or Sutton, I care about us and we want to get the job done, because that is what we set out to do from the first moment.

"We've had no leg up from anyone, we've had some challenges like every other professional football club has, we've had a real run of games because we had some problems with our pitch earlier in the season, we now have some injuries ad suspensions but nobody cares about excuses.

"For us, we have to stay really resolute, really determined - we knew that the closer we got, the tougher it was going to get so it's no surprises and we've got to get on with it and get it done.

Gazette:

"We play at home to Doncaster on Tuesday and then we have another home game against Crewe in front of our supporters and I have to say - they weren't tired, were they?

"They were there right to the final moment and stuck with us and we owe them to finish this season well and then we get to look forward and try to bring some brighter tomorrows."

Macauley Langstaff's second-half strike proved enough to give Notts County victory at Meadow Lane.

“It was a tough afternoon for us," said Cowley.

“They’re a team that played with a really good rhythm and probably a tough team to play after the backlog of games that we’ve had.

READ MORE: Notts County 1 Colchester United 0 - as it happened 

“We came here of course with ten players unavailable to us, which makes it really, really difficult for us.

“We had a lot of effort from the players and I don’t think we can fault that.

“I think we have to control our emotions a little bit better when things get tough and when we suffer, so that we can make more intelligent decisions on the pitch and I think that would then help us.

“We needed to show more quality with the ball and football can become a vicious circle.

“What happens is that the opposition have the ball, they test you and you run, you suffer, then you tire and then when you get the ball, you start to make mistakes and tire and you get into a vicious circle.

"Ultimately, we lived in that vicious circle for too long today."

Gazette:

Colchester twice hit the woodwork against Notts County, with Ellis Iandolo's audacious lob from near the halfway line tipped onto the bar by keeper Luca Ashby-Hammond and Riley Harbottle's header striking a post, in the second half.

Cowley added: "We had a great moment from Ellis, from the halfway line.

"We had two really good moments to score, in the first half.

"We came out in the second half and were actually the better team.

"We changed the system slightly and we had to keep tweaking the system.

"But sometimes, it's not the system it's just how the players execute, in the game but we were trying to help them as much as we could.

READ MORE: Robbie Cowling reveals U's budget hope for next season

"We come out after half-time and had two or three really good moments and then they score and it took a little bit of our energy away.

"We enjoy playing with aggressive pressure and high energy but we weren't able to execute that today.

"I think we understand the reasons why but like I've just said to them in there, it's not time for us to feel sorry for ourselves.

"Yes the schedule has been difficult, yes we have got some injuries, yes we have got some key players out but feeling sorry for yourselves is not a good look in football and it's never ever helped you win a game.

Gazette:

"The season is a marathon and you're expected to play 46 league games plus all the cup games and sometimes, you have to play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday and guess what? Sometimes you have to play Saturday and Tuesday again.

"I don't think they should feel tired because they're professional footballers.

"They train every day of their lives to be physically robust with the demands of professional football.

"It is a marathon and we are in the final straight and you do have to push yourself.

"You have to be mentally tough, absolutely.

"We should be at our fittest now; we've trained all season.

"At the beginning of the season, you should be at your unfittest because you're building your fitness and nowadays, with the way that we all plan our training programmes is to peak at the business end of the season.

"Well, this is the business end of the season and we're on the home straight and we have to sprint and yes, there will be times where your body doesn't want to but if your mind is strong, you'll find that running power and the physical requirements that you need to meet your demand."