Scott Fitzgerald just cannot wait to run out at his old Millwall stamping ground on Boxing Day.

The stylish Colchester United central defender has never played against one of his old clubs before and is looking forward with relish to an afternoon of festive pleasure.

"It will be a completely new experience for me," said the cultured Republic of Ireland B international.

"I had three-and-a-half seasons at the New Den as a player, the last two of them as captain, and enjoyed every minute of it.

"The fans were as good as gold to me while I was there and I'm not expecting them to be any different when I return on Boxing Day.

"If we beat them, of course, that's a different matter.

"The game is a massive test for us because they are going well at the top of the table and it will give us a chance to see how far we've come in recent weeks.

"The whole place is geared to Division One football both on and off the pitch. But while the Lions are my bet to be promoted I'm a Colchester United player now and nothing will please me more than to go out there and beat them."

Success is what the 31-year-old versatile defender is all about. Happy to play anywhere in the team, but most comfortable at the heart of defence, the former Wimbledon and Lions favourite pointed out: "I have not signed for Colchester to play in relegation battles every season.

"I've never done it before and it's not my intention to start now.

"Luton was a big game for us last weekend, but tonight's home match with Oxford and the Boxing Day clash at Millwall have now become massive.

"Oxford is the most important because it is the next one.

"We've got to be looking for maximum points and everything depends upon us.

"We are going into Christmas just seven points away from the play-offs, but just eight points clear of a relegation spot.

"Do we want to stand still, or do we want to kick on to even better things?

"It would be great to see the old year out on a high with wins over both Millwall and Oxford to send us on our way."

As one of the more experienced players in the U's squad, the Westminster born Irishman has already become a vital cog in the Layer Road wheel having eventually decided to sign for the U's after an initial approach in the summer.

So what tempted Fitzgerald to uproot and move on from a club where he was clearly a huge favourite?

He said: "I was told by the Millwall manager at the start of the season that every player was starting with a clean slate, but when I wasn't in the first 20 by the end of the first three pre-season games I knew it was time to move on.

Millwall did offer me a new one-year contract, but I felt with all the service I had given them I warrented more than that so I moved on to Colchester.

"I had a word with one of my old coaches at Wimbledon, Ray Harford, who pointed me in the direction of Layer Road.

"Ray's a former Colchester player and coach, who has also won the Premiership with Blackburn. I'm absolutely loving it here and things have gone a lot better than expected.

"We've got a lot of strength in depth at Layer Road, especially at the back. We've picked up a lot of points in recent weeks and have moved into the top half of the table.

"Winning breeds confidence and that's what we must carry on doing now."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.