“IT seemed that a point would be enough, I think it was Ian Marshall saying ‘Get back!’ and then all of a sudden somebody scored and we needed to win, so then it was everybody getting forward, and then another goal elsewhere and then everyone was defending.

“On the pitch we were not quite sure what was going on, just following those instructions: Get forward, we need a goal… no, it’s all right just sit in and make it difficult. It was a heck of a day, but a great journey home.”

Town’s final day ‘Great Escape’ at Blackburn in 1993/94 as seen through the eyes of former Blues midfielder and one-time Colchester boss Geraint Williams when I spoke to him some years ago.

The Blues avoided dropping out of the Premier League by the skin of their teeth, drawing 0-0 against Rovers – who finished second that year – while Mark Stein’s late, late goal for Chelsea pushed Sheffield United into the last remaining relegation spot.

Those Town fans making the trip to Blackburn tomorrow will be hoping for a repeat of that “great journey home”, but rather less of the panic and frantic swapping from defence to attack based on events elsewhere, and certainly not the need for the season to be turned on a final-minute goal hundreds of miles away.

The Blues go into Saturday’s visit to Ewood Park sitting in fifth almost confirmed in the play-offs for the first time in a decade.

It would take a couple of results failing to go in Town’s favour in addition to their own for the Blues not to find themselves in the top six come mid-afternoon on Saturday, but while there’s that “almost” still appearing ahead of “confirmed in the play-offs” there’ll always be that nagging feeling that something, however unlikely, could still go wrong.

Most of us have been watching football for some years after all and bear the emotional scars to prove it.

A point would be enough to finally remove that “almost”, while the Blues could even lose and still make it, as long as two of the following fail to happen.

Sixth-placed Derby win or draw, Brentford in seventh win with a swing of three goals or more, or eighth-placed Wolves win with a swing of at least seven goals.

The Rams are at home to Reading which you’d expect them to win, given that the Royals appear to be making an early bid to be viewed as one of next year’s pre-season relegation favourites having failed to win any of their last nine league games.

Brentford face Wigan, whose relegation was confirmed earlier in the week and who have won just one of their last eight. Put that down as a home win, probably by two or three goals.

As good as Wolves were against Town a few weeks ago, it’ll probably be beyond them to net the required hatload of goals against Millwall, who finally lost their battle against the drop earlier in the week. A Wolves win seems likely but only by a couple of goals.

Therefore, the Blues would appear to require something from their game at Ewood Park. Obviously, there’s the Jordan Rhodes factor to consider, the former Blue having made a habit of netting against the club which let him slip from their clutches so disastrously in 2009.

Taking it as read that Rhodes will almost certainly score once, I foresee another of the hard-fought away draws which have become Town’s trademark with Daryl Murphy taking his season’s total to 26 as the game ends 1-1.

It might well end up being a nervy last few minutes, but ideally without a repeat of the ups and downs and mad to-ing and fro-ing of 1993/94.

But that’s only one half of the equation. Who Town would meet is the other with a semi-final against fourth-placed Norwich City a distinct possibility.

However, putting my final weekend predictions – I expect Norwich to beat Fulham – through the TWTD League Calculator I see the Blues finishing sixth and facing third-placed Middlesbrough in the semi-final, while the Canaries do battle with Derby.

The tantalising but scary prospect of a Town-Norwich play-off mother-of-all-East-Anglian-derbies may have to wait for Wembley.