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Five months ago, U's boss Aidy Boothroyd was 5,371 miles from the match between Colchester and Norwich, but on Saturday he'll be right in the thick of the action in the return game betweeen the two sides.

As he waited for the right time to get back into the game, Aidy was in San Diego as the U's recorded their astonishing 7-1 opening day victory at Carrow Road.

Wind the clock on to the current day and the hugely popular Colchester manager is ready to pit his wits against the side where he began his coaching career.

Speaking ahead of the weekend game, he said: "Every game is an important game and we look to go out and win each time we take to the pitch.

"It is a local derby, given a bit of spice by the result at the start of the season.

"The manager there was obviously my predecessor here, so there are all sorts of interesting angles, with a little bit of previous involved.

"It is an exciting match, but it is just another football match and one we want to win

"We have two games in hand on them and it is one of those matches, which can be a defining moment this season - and that's true for both sides.

"We have to make sure we don't get too excited. We have dealt with the big games well this season and we want to do the same again.

"They will think that if we win, we will be coming after them and they'd be right."

The U's will host a Norwich side who sit shoulder to shoulder with them in the League One form table and, unsurprisingly, the national media will be taking plenty of interest in the game.

The match will be the featured game on this weekend's Football League show on BBC1 and both sets of fans are eagerly anticipating the match with everything surrounding the game.

Asked about the return of Paul Lambert and his management team, Aidy said: "It will all add to the spice of the game.

"Paul's decision was his own, but I am not bothered by Paul Lambert or what he does, I am more interested in what we do and what I do on the weekend to win the game.

"My teams tend to do well because we work hard for each other, we respect our opposition and we know what it takes to win.

"Should Colchester be vying for promotion with Leeds, Charlton and Norwich? Well, if you looked at the papers at the start of the season most were saying we would be 12th to 14th, so perhaps we have been overachieving.

"They are different teams now to the start of the season. There have been a lot of changes to both teams - John White, Anthony Wordsworth and Phil Ifil have all come in and been a big part of the team and the things that I have done here.

"They will have a point to prove and hopefully they can maintain their emotional intelligence and prove to themselves that they are good players and part of a winning team.

"Every year a group breaks away from the rest and there's a marathon within that group.

"If you like, we need to get on the shoulders of the Kenyans at the front and hope that our sprint finish is better than theirs.

"But whilst it is a marathon and whilst you've got to look at the end game, you have also got to put one foot in front of the other. Our next foot forward is Norwich City and we are looking forward to the game."