Cambridge United boss Mark Bonner says his side will not get carried away with an obsession on results around them in the quest for promotion

Cambridge United head coach Mark Bonner has said it is a waste of energy for him and his players to focus too heavily on other results, despite the impact it is having on an exciting Sky Bet League Two promotion race.

The U's will unexpectedly head into Saturday's game at 18th-placed Port Vale (3pm) remaining as league leaders by a point, following Forest Green Rovers' shock 3-1 home defeat to previously bottom side Southend United last night.

It does leave Mark Cooper's side still with two games in hand on United though.

But despite the boost it may have given them in the wake of their 1-0 defeat at home to promotion rivals Cheltenham Town on Tuesday, Bonner says they can only afford to worry about their own results.

"This season is just crazy. Someone showed me a table this morning where it goes 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45 downwards," he said at this afternoon's press conference.

"I just think it is impossible to call it, so don't bother wasting your time trying to do it, just concentrate on trying to be good yourselves.

"We came really close the other night. We shouldn't have lost the game, we should have definitely taken something from it and we could have won it with the best chances that we had.

"But it was good teams going at it and a very, very balanced game, quite edgy at times.

"If you look across the league it's the same. I went to Walsall-Newport last night and it was again a really close game and goal in it and a good result for Newport away from home.

"I think you are just going to see that a lot over the next few weeks when everyone is playing Saturday-Tuesday trying to keep everybody fit.

"The bottom three all won this midweek and they are taking points off teams; it is wide open and there is a lot of teams with something to play for.

"I think from a spectators' point of view that makes it really exciting. From a coaching and players' point of view it means you have got an opportunity.

"But on the other side of that, I've got a hell of a lot of energy to give and I'll give every ounce of it to make our team better as will the players, but I haven't got enough to spend too long looking at and worrying about everyone else's results because really I have no control over it.

"There is an interest in what is going on elsewhere but there is certainly not an obsession. The real focus is on ourselves and the league shows it is really open and everyone can beat everyone. We know we can compete with everyone, so let's see where we end up."

Despite Tuesday's result, which dropped United to eighth in the division's form table over the last six games, with three wins, one draw and two defeats, he is confident he does not need to alter things to keep them on the right path to achieve their promotion target.

"We've been in the top six for 27 out of 31 games so we're obviously doing something right and there is a belief there that we can hang on to it if we keep doing what we're doing," he said.

"If often as possible we find our best level we will have a chance winning games.

"The number of games left is a big number (15) and I don't really need to focus on that as I've said that a few times.

"We just have to try and respond like we always have done and by respond I just mean try and win the next game.

"In terms of a response to the performance, attitude, effort, very rarely have we had to do that.

"There has been a couple of moments this year where we have had to say we've been really disappointing.

"Probably Stevenage away was one where I was really disappointed with the performance and the output and we went on a run of one defeat in 10 off the back of that.

"It is probably the only time. The only time we've lost by a big scoreline was at Salford and we've analysed why that was.

"There is no real drama from everything that has happened and that gives you a belief that actually, the remaining games could follow a similar pattern, if we do what we're supposed to."

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