Colchester United manager John Ward has stressed the importance of his side winning their home games, if they are challenge for promotion this season.

The U’s entertain Yeovil Town tomorrow in npower League One, in what will be their fourth successive match at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Colchester sit just three points off the automatic promotion places, heading into this weekend’s games.

And boss Ward knows how vital it is his players perform well on home soil.

Ward said: “We’re three points off the top-two but if we’re to maintain our challenge in the top part, we have to win our home games and we’re pretty selfish like that.

“We’re right in the mix with teams like Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield, Peterborough and Charlton, that’s pretty something for a club like Colchester.

“We’re working on gates of 3-4,000 - they’re working on gates that are five times that.

“It’s really important that we stay with it and if the players and supporters all work very hard together, then who knows what we can achieve.

“When we’re perhaps a little down we need that support and we need it even more when we’re up.

“The supporters are very important to us.”

Meanwhile, boss Ward has urged his team not to take Yeovil lightly tomorrow.

The Glovers are struggling in second from bottom position, in the League One table.

“I’ve been where Yeovil are with other clubs and sometimes you just need that little break to change it around and play,” said Ward.

“They have one or two problems but there’s no way that ourselves, the players or certainly the supporters should be taking them lightly.

“We’ll have to work hard - we’ve seen that with the two FA Cup games that we’ve had here this season.

“We had to work extremely hard to go through in both ties, both by one goal.”

For all of the latest Colchester United news, including a full preview of the U’s game with Yeovil, see Friday’s Gazette.