Southend United manager Rob Newman challenged his players to start proving they are winners during tonight's re-arranged fixture at Shrewsbury Town.
A run of nine defeats in 12 league outings has left Blues 17th in Division Three, one place and point above their Shropshire hosts. But Newman said his men were fully focused on lifting the ailing Shrimpers back up the table.
"Both the players and management are still positive and believe we can steer the club out of it's current rut," he said.
"There's been a lot of talk about us falling into a relegation battle, but that isn't something we are even thinking about here.
"The players know they are better than our current league position suggests and they want to go out against Shrewsbury and prove it.
"We've got 21 games left this season, which is a lot of points, and as a squad we still believe we can finish higher in the table. Nothing would please me more than to go on a run of games which lifted us back towards the play-offs."
Defender Phil Whelan (knee) and striker Graeme Jones (calf) join goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan (thigh) on the injury list. Skipper Kevin Maher completes his ban, while fellow midfielder Stuart Thurgood returns from suspension.
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Published Tuesday, January 14, 2003
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