THE Weston Homes Community Stadium - it's not the easiest ground in the football league to say and now it is rapidly becoming not the easiest of places for opposition to play at.

Stuart Watson

By Stuart Watson

THE Weston Homes Community Stadium - it's not the easiest ground in the football league to say and now it is rapidly becoming not the easiest of places for opposition to play at.

Colchester United's league record there this season reads as follows: won four and lost one, the latter coming by a single goal against league-leaders Leeds United.

Juxtapose that with last season when the U's managed just seven home league wins in 23 attempts at their shiny new stadium and suddenly, a trip to the old Roman town has become that little bit more intimidating.

Instead of its mod-cons looking like a comfortable destination for travel-weary footballers, the trademark triangular supporting structures hold more of an aggressive aura for those arriving on the team coach.

“When you go past the stadium on the A12 it looks like a fortress - and I want it to become that,” said Aidy Boothroyd, who is unbeaten following five matches as U's boss and has already masterminded home victories over Hartlepool (2-0) and Charlton (3-0).

“This town has been a garrison town for over 200 years so it should have a fortress of a football stadium. We are a million miles from that at the moment, but we're going to have a lot of fun building it.”

The 10,000 capacity stadium has seen attendances of 8,810 (against Leeds) and 7,098 (against Charlton) this season, but that was thanks largely in part to a strong visiting support.

The fourth-place Essex side host sixth-place Huddersfield on Saturday and Boothroyd is hoping there will an improvement on the

4,259 that turned up to watch the recent win over Hartlepool.

“The atmosphere was great on Tuesday night, but I want it to be a full house. I see that as part of my job here to get people from the town to come and support the club. It would be nice if new people came and supported us against Huddersfield.

“Home form is going to be very important. If we can win the majority of our home games then I don't think we will be too far away from where I want us to be.

“Having good home form can work one or two ways. Teams can either come here to sit back and counter attack, like Hartlepool did, or come here and go for it, like Charlton did.

“Either way, if we deal with both approaches in the manner we have so far then opposition will run out of ideas.

“I'd like us to build a reputation, but we haven't done it yet. We are very level and very grounded here and know we are nowhere near the finished article.

“But there is a feeling of opportunity - that we have a chance of building something special.”

- For full Colchester match preview, see tomorrow's EADT.

The 7,098 crowd that witnessed Colchester's 3-0 win over Charlton on Tuesday was the club's best midweek attendance in over 38 years.

The previous best was the 9,807 that watched the U's play Southend United at Layer Road in October 1971.