Mark Bentley is likely to make a return

Steve Tilson’s men were narrowly defeated by three goals to two in their last outing, just three days ago at the hands of Scunthorpe United, and a meeting with Shrewsbury offers, on paper at least, the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways. The Salop have not won in the last eight matches, save for a 3-2 first round LDV Vans Trophy win over AFC Bournemouth in late September.

United, meanwhile, have just that defeat to the Iron, a 4-0 reversal at Darlington’s Williamson Motors Stadium and the 2-1 Roots Hall loss against Wycombe Wanderers blotting their copybook over the past ten matches, and despite that set-back at Glanford Park remain one of the form teams in League Two at the moment.

The clash will also be the fifteenth Football League encounter of the current campaign, and it is at this stage that a side can genuinely tell if it is to be successful. The signs are in place that the early-season dip in form was temporary, and that Blues have the consistency to improve their position of eleventh at the moment, and if they could glean three points from Town tomorrow, the likelihood is that a play-off place would once again beckon.

That, at the very least, will be Tilson and Paul Brush’s troops’ target come the end of 2004/5, but the one word, consistency, seems to have hampered the Seasiders for some time now. Not since the old First Division days have Southend looked anything remotely like a top ten side, and even in those times that position wasn’t attained. It is thirteen years at the end of this season since promotion to the even older Division Two (now ‘The Championship’) meant a top ten finish.

But to get that far up the table, the Shrimpers will need men of the calibre of Mark Bentley to be a fixture in the team, and the former Gravesend & Northfleet and Dagenham & Redbridge anchor man in the middle of the park will undoubtedly come back into the team that faces the Shrews tomorrow having completed a three-match suspension, nonsensically handed out by the Football Association after he was amazingly accused of stamping on Colchester United’s Stephen Hunt in the LDV Vans Trophy first round clash at Layer Road.

Bentley’s return could signal the end of a brief spell in the first eleven for ex-Derby County utility man Lewis Hunt, who has partnered club captain Kevin Maher in Bentley’s absence. The 21-year-old will be unfortunate if he is dropped to make way for the six-foot one-inch central midfield man, but with Maher unlikely to be removed from the starting line-up, the middle of the park is a position that Blues could fill in abundance.

Speaking to the Southend Evening Echo, Bentley revealed that he was expecting to get back into the side after contributing a number of excellent displays in the centre up until his ban. “It will be nice to get out there again, if selected, because it’s been frustrating for me sitting in the stands”, the 26-year-old commented. However, he also said that he was willing to sit on the bench if that is what is best for the team: “We want to go there and get another victory to get closer to the play-offs again”, he declared.

Another key midfielder will also be looking for a return to duties in Mark Gower. The playmaker was injured in the win over Swansea City at Roots hall after collecting a knock after a savage challenge from the Swans’ Bradley Maylett and then also being clattered by Freddy Eastwood after both players failed to give each other a call.

Gower saw a specialist yesterday after suffering a reaction to the ankle injury over the weekend, and having missed the trip to Scunthorpe. He has now returned to training with the rest of the squad, and is expected to reclaim his place in the line-up. Whether that is in place of Jimmy Corbett, whose screamer of a goal apart had a disappointing eighty minutes against the Iron, or Carl Pettefer, who also put in an abject display, will be up to Tilson and Brush.

Two men who will not be available in the midfield are Jay Smith and Michael Kightly. The latter has joined Farnborough Town on a month’s loan, and has been named in their squad to face Dagenham & Redbridge tomorrow, whilst Smith is still a fortnight away from a comeback after his own foot problems – he will target the Essex Senior Cup third round clash with Brentwood Town as his return.

Bart Griemink, the former Swindon Town goalkeeper, will also be looking to reserve team football to offer him a chance of a recall to the side. The 32-year-old was injured against Rushden & Diamonds in a brave challenge with David Bell, and has had to sit out ever since, with Darryl Flahavan largely deputising, but he is just a matter of days from returning to training, and he will be eying up the Pontin’s Holidays Combination encounter with Gillingham next Wednesday as his first match back.

For the mean while, Flahavan will be back between the sticks after making a series of fine saves on Tuesday in defiance of an excellent attacking Scunthorpe side, with Ryan Clarke again having to settle for a spot on the substitutes’ bench. Should Griemink return to the squad shortly, Clarke’s loan period may be terminated early and he could go back to Bristol Rovers as early as next Wednesday.

Spencer Prior may have to sit the trip out with a hip problem

In defence, Spencer Prior was forced to limp out of action at Glanford Park as he suffered from a hip problem, so Andy Edwards could be the man chosen to partner Adam Barrett in the heart of the back four. Neither Duncan Jupp nor Che Wilson covered themselves in success against the Iron, so with Stuart Williams, Hunt and Nicky Nicolau all possibilities for a starting spot, the two full-backs are less than sure of a place in Tilson’s eleven.

However, Grays Athletic loanee Freddy Eastwood most certainly has secured a spot in the starting eleven for the remainder of his month-long loan after netting his fourth goal in just two matches against the Iron. That hat-trick against Swansea set a plethora of new post-Second World War records for the Shrimpers, and he will be looking to carry on in the same vein in order to secure the best deal his agent can rustle up.

Wayne Gray has also found a new lease of life since Lawrie Dudfield dropped out of the side with a thigh concern against Colchester, and whether it be alongside Eastwood, as he will find himself tomorrow, or Tesfaye Bramble, who is also likely to return to the squad after a knee injury sustained whilst performing heroics in goal against Boston United in Blues’ 2-1 win, the former Wimbledon man has performed. He will also be seeking a goal to cement his role in the side. Kightly’s departure on loan signals Bramble’s return to fitness – Michael Husbands, who played on trial for Forest Green Rovers, limped out of action in midweek and will not be considered.

Shrewsbury are not without problems of their own. The Salop have lost their manager, Jimmy Quinn, since their 1-1 draw with Grimsby Town, whilst striker Richard Logan has been recalled by Peterborough United manager Barry Fry after spending a month on loan at Gay Meadow. It could be worse, as top-scorer Luke Rodgers was booked for the fifth time this season against the Mariners, but he will not be suspended until Town take on Kidderminster Harriers.

Ex-Bristol Rovers full-back Trevor Challis continues to be plagued by a hamstring injury, whilst former Southend United midfielder Ben Smith is, sadly all-too-predictably, currently out of action. John McGrath, formerly in Aston Villa’s youth team and a one-time trialist for the Shrimpers, is available and could start in midfield alongside veteran Martyn O’Connor, who scored the only goal in Carlisle United’s 1-0 win over Blues at Brunton Park in January 2003.

Duane Darby, whose goals helped fire the Salop into League Two last season, is expected to continue alongside Rodgers up front. But Wales Under-21 international midfielder Jamie Tolley is another who will heap the pressure on stand-in boss Chic Bates after it was revealed that he is unavailable due to a fractured shin.

LIKELY SQUADS

REFEREE: Carl Boyeson (East Yorkshire)

ASSISTANTS: William Smallwood (Cheshire) and Andy Williams (Herefordshire)