The countdown to the end of Layer Road begins in earnest this afternoon, with the visit of Hull City the first of the final ten league games ever to be played at this famous old stadium.

The first half of the campaign has absolutely raced by and there are just nineteen Championship games remaining between now and the end of last season.

Clearly, the task on the pitch is obvious - the U's need to pull themselves out of the drop zone and into a position of comfort as they look to guarantee themselves a third season at this level.

The players charged with that responsibility have a double incentive to do so. No footballer wants a relegation on their sporting CV and the prospects of being amongst the first ever Colchester United players to run out at the club's new stadium is a tasty prospect.

The new 10,000 all-seater stadium at Cuckoo Farm continues to take shape, with work having carried on for much of the Christmas period to ensure that things have kept to the necessary timetable.

The pitch at the new community facility is not due to be laid until the end of February, but the men who will be gracing the new look turf were given a close-up look at the work that has taken place so far last Thursday.

The entire first team squad and coaching staff were given a guided tour of the new stadium as it appears at present by Barr site manager Steven Gunn.

"I was really impressed with it," midfielder Johnnie Jackson admitted.

"I knew from what I had read before that it is going to be a ten thousand capacity, so I thought it was going to be quite small. But when we got there, and went up into the West Stand, it was pretty impressive and I am looking forward to playing there.

"It'll be great to get up there again when the pitch has been laid and the seats are in, to get a better idea of what it is going to look like as the finished article."

The lads, wearing their hard hats, high visibility vests and wellington boots, were given the complete tour by Steven, which included them going right to the second floor level of the West Stand, which will house the corporate boxes that were launched so successfully.

The squad were clearly impressed by the facility but the most eagerly anticipated part of the tour came when the team were able to venture down what will be the players' tunnel and into the dressing room which will be their home on matchdays from next season.

"All the lads were really pleased with what they saw," captain Karl Duguid added.

"Barr seem to be getting it done very quickly and working long hours, and I was surprised, like Jacko, how big it was once we got up close."

Work continues apace at Cuckoo Farm, with the breezeblock work having now separated out most of the individual rooms and offices at the new stadium.

This includes the 300-strong function suite in the West Stand which will be the home of many of the new corporate memberships at the new stadium.

More details on this are due soon, so keep an eye out on CU-FC.com for the latest news!