The Shots have spent a week preparing for their mid-table tussle at Roots Hall this Saturday afternoon – and boss Dean Holdsworth has promised supporters that there won't be a repeat of the result that happened the last time a Shots' side visited the Essex-based club!
A cold November evening 21-years ago saw The Shots defeated 10-1 in the Leyland Daf Cup but under the new club, it will only be the second ever meeting between the two sides and although The Shots came out victors in a tightly fought 1-0 win on that occasion under former manager Kevin Dillon, current Shots' boss Holdsworth said: ”The score won’t be 10-1 on Saturday, but I’d be more than happy happy with another 1-0 win!”
The Shots enter the match in 13th place in League Two with 52 points from 39 games, while Southend are a place below in 14th with one point less, having a game in hand.
Shots Team News
Seven games in four weeks obviously took its toll on the Shots as the performance against Accrington Stanley last weekend was far from impressive, but after a week away from League Two action, Holdsworth is still very much focused on pushing the club as high up the table as possible saying: ”The most important thing for us is that we’re not mathematically out of the play-offs and it’s important that we maintain our form, we had a great seven games in March and we want to carry that on.
”When I came to the football club, there was a lot of negativity around the place and I think that’s been lifted and now the expectancy has been turned around and we’ve raised the bar.
”We’ve had Southend watched when they beat Hereford and they’re a good club and a big club and there is a lot of expectancy as well.
”Its going to be a tough competition – they’re capable of scoring goals and they’re also capable of letting in goals so if we go there with the right game plan and right attitude, we’ll come away with something I’m sure."
Wednesday saw a useful reserve match played against Crawley Town giving several squad players the opportunity to gain some much needed match fitness and although Adam Mekki picked up a knock, he is expected to be available for selection. That leaves Jack Randall as the only player sidelined for The Shots as he continues to miss out through a broken leg (his second of the season) while Doug Bergqvist and Reece Connolly, who had his contract extended for a further month, remain on loan down at Dorchester Town.
Shots from: Jamie Young, Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, Ben Herd, Simon Grand, Luke Guttridge, Anthony Straker, Darren Jones, Anthony Charles, Ben Harding, Danny Hylton, Manny Panther, Aaron Morris, John Halls, Peter Vincenti, Clayton Fortune, Jermaine McGlashan, Wade Small, Luke Medley, Alex Rodman, Damian Spencer, Adam Mekki and Tim Sills.
The Opposition
While Premium Shots subscribers have been hearing Holdsworth claiming that Youth players are the future for The Shots, Blues manager Paul Sturrock has already been forced into making the same decision in recent weeks after his club have savaged with an injury crisis, but with several promising youngsters coming through the ranks, damage to the playing front has been minimised.
Currently out are Peter Gilbert [ankle], Bilel Mohsni [ankle], Craig Easton [calf], Mark Philips [hip], Luke Prosser [calf], Johnny Herd [hamstring] and Miguel Comminges [knee] all absent along with Merrick James-Lewis who is on loan with Braintree until the end of the season. 23-year-old Ryan Hall had a 20-week jail sentence for affray reduced following an appeal last month so is available to feature, and he is looking to put his mistakes behind him and help the Blues push on.
Southend from: Glenn Morris, Rhys Evans, Sean Clohessy, James Stevens, Graham Coughlan, Anthony Grant, Barry Corr, Lee Sawyer, Ryan Hall, Adam Bouzid, Louie Soares, Harry Crawford, Blair Sturrock, Chris Barker, Teddy Nesbitt, Alex Woodyard, Kane Ferdinand and Lyle Della-Verde.
- You can visit the official Southend United website here.
Taking Charge
Rob Lewis will be taking charge of the match and will be assisted by Gary Evetts and Matt Foley. John Hopkins is the fourth official.
Weather Forecast
The BBC weather forecast for the match given as white cloud with highs of 15°C.
Ticket News
Tickets for the match are set at:
Adult seats: £18.
Seniors (Over 60s) seats: £13.
Students (with valid ID card) seats: £12.
Young Person (17 to 21) seats: £10*.
Juniors (8 to 16) seats: £9.
Under 8s seats: £4*.
Disables & free carerseats: £13
Young Person & Under 8s only available on pre-purchased tickets – not available on the day. Supporters will have to pay relevant other prices on the turnstile.
The match is not all-ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day.
Other News
- BBC Radio Surrey
Supporters unable to make the match can hear live coverage from the match on BBC Radio Surrey (on 104.6 fm) which is brought to you by Gavin Denison.
Supporters are reminded that there is no internet coverage of this match.