Tilly: 'We have to improve in both boxes as a team'
Blues boss Steve Tilson went on a spying mission in Kent to catch Tranmere Rovers 1-0 win over the Gills, and admited he would 'surprise me if they are in the bottom four at the end of the season.'
Tilly spoke to www.southendunited.co.uk: "Their work rate was tremendous and they thoroughly deserved to beat Gillingham on the night."
However, he was still upbeat about his own side after Monday's 2-0 defeat in the Essex derby where the Shrimpers impressed the Sky Sports watching public with their attempts to play good football in such awful coonditions.
The Southend manager continued: "The mood is still very good. We have to improve in both boxes as a team. I watched the game when I got home to have a look and that reinforced it in my mind that we were the better side. We need another performance like that on Saturday."
Parry: 'That makes the games important and the situation exciting'
Rovers boss Les Parry is well aware of the importance of the game and how three points could move his team out of the bottom four for the first time since the early stages of the season.
Parry said: "We are not far off the teams in the mid-table positions. One of the reasons for that is the same reason we are still in the bottom four, even though we've had a run of decent results. Everyone around us is picking up points as well, so the table has squeezed up like a concertina. Many of the games we have coming up are against teams in the bottom half of the table. That makes the games important and the situation exciting."
Then again, he's not underestimating the Shrimpers.
Les continued: "Southend are a decent side with a lot of good players. They have one or two who can be outstanding at times and a little bit frustrating at others. I'm hoping they are going to be in the frustrating mode."