It's official - Colchester United will be playing Nationwide League Division Two football next season.

They finally sealed their status in emphatic fashion on Saturday, recording their best-ever victory, 3-0, against promotion-chasing Cardiff City.

The U's faithful have been in dreamland since Phil Parkinson took over as manager on February 25.

In his 11 games in charge, Parkinson has manfully steered his side away from the feared relegation drop zone up to tenth place in the table and they are now on course for their highest-ever finish in the league.

Under Parky's guidance, the U's have lost just once - away to Oldham, drawn four times and won six - a performance that saw the Colchester boss scoop the Nationwide League Division Two Manager-of-the-Month award for March.

And Colchester's newest centurion Thomas Pinault said: "Watch us go for the play-offs next season."

The classy and competitive midfielder celebrated his first century for the U's with a top class performance in the win over Cardiff.

And as he prepared for the Layer Road clash with high-flying Luton Town, the enthusiastic Frenchman told the Evening Gazette: "It was great to mark my 100th game with such a great result.

"We must now carry our good form into next season. It will stand for nothing if we don't.

"We have become a very difficult team to beat under the new manager. If we had started playing this well a little earlier in the season the play-offs might well have been within our reach now."

Published Monday, April 21, 2003

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