Cambridge aim to go six points clear at the top of League Two as Southend visit The Abbey

Despite suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Salford City on Tuesday night, Cambridge United remain top of the Sky Bet League Two table.

Prior to their trip to the Peninsula Stadium, the U’s went through the whole of January without suffering a single defeat, picking up wins against the likes of Harrogate, Crawley and Barrow in the process. They now have a three point lead on Forest Green Rovers in second, although all of the chasing pack have multiple games in hand on Mark Bonner’s side. In fact, only 16th place Port Vale have played the same number of games as Cambridge.

Nonetheless, their league position is a testament to the work done by the players and the manager, and that was once again rewarded. Bonner picked up his second Manager of the Month award for the U’s performances in January, while Wes Hoolahan was given the Player of the Month for his standout performances in midfield.

Despite being older than his manager, Hoolahan has played an integral part in Cambridge’s success this season. The 38-year-old has been played out of his natural position, often on the left wing in Bonner’s preferred 4-4-2 system. Nonetheless, he’s still managed to pick up four goals and five assists in the 20 league games he’s played so far this season.

However, much of the attention understandably falls onto League Two’s top scorer, Paul Mullin. Cambridge managed to hold on to the 26-year-old in the January transfer window, despite reported interest from multiple Championship and League One clubs. In just 28 league games, Mullin has already found the back of the net 20 times. That’s two more goals than their upcoming opponents, Southend United, have managed all season.

The U’s only played the Shrimpers five games ago, and claimed their scalp as part of their undefeated January run, earning a 2-1 win at Roots Hall. However, Bonner’s side had to come from behind to do so. Simeon Akinola headed home from a poorly defended corner to give the Essex outfit the lead just before the half-hour mark.

Cambridge have often shown that they’re a much better side in the second half of games, and this was another fine example. Jack Iredale’s thunderous volley flew in off the crossbar to level the scores, before Joe Ironside’s close-range tap-in sealed the points for the U’s just 20 minutes later.

Given the Shrimpers poor run of form and dire financial situation, relegation to the National League seems to be imminent. The club narrowly avoided a winding-up petition at the start of the season, and have been under a transfer embargo for much of the campaign. Nonetheless, Mark Molesley’s side have fought against all the odds to earn results, and come into Saturday’s clash on the back of a shock 1-0 win away at promotion-chasing Newport.

But the clash is more of an examination of Cambridge than anything else. While the U’s can earn themselves a six-point cushion at the top of the league with a win, they know that those with multiple games in hand can easily close the gap or even overtake the U’s in the coming weeks. At the time of writing, Cambridge’s clash with Southend is one of just two games in League Two going ahead on Saturday, with the U’s being the only side in the top half of the table set to play this weekend.

Tuesday’s 4-1 defeat at Salford was a wakeup call. The Ammies’ side is, on paper, by far the best in the league, and they truly showed that by capitalising on every mistake that the U’s made. They can’t take their league position for granted given the fact that they’ve played more games than everyone else. The gap at the top of the table is still incredibly small, and wins against the likes of Southend are crucial if they have true ambitions of playing League One football next season.

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