Southend United manager Alan Little was a relieved man after watching Blues finally end their Roots Hall hoodoo with a gutsy 2-1 triumph over high-flying Swansea City on Saturday.

The third-placed Welshmen had chalked up an awesome record of nine consecutive Third Division wins before this encounter, but were undone by a double from Shrimpers hitman Martin Carruthers, which sealed the Seasiders' first home success in eight attempts.

Swansea midfielder Nick Cusack netted a consolation penalty for the visitors in between Carruthers' brace, but Blues battled hard to earn their first victory on their own ground for more than two months.

"It's a nice feeling to be leaving Roots Hall with three points for a change, but I'm even happier for the fans because they've had to wait a long time for this win," said Little.

The Shrimpers boss dedicated his side's conquest to a hard training pitch slog leading up to the game, during which time he had put his players through the basics of their trade to try and eradicate the defensive errors which have haunted them this term.

"I've done more work with our defence over the past week than I have at any stage of my managerial career," Little added.

"But it looks to have paid off because I was much happier with our shape and we were a lot harder to break down during what was a solid 90-minute performance.

"This was our most complete display of the season and I think the commitment and passion of my players was there for all to see, which can hopefully give us something to work on for the rest of this campaign."

However, Little admitted his frustration at Southend's current lowly plight, floundering in 15th place, right among the Football League's deadwood.

"Swansea came to Roots Hall having won nine games on the spin, but they never looked like picking up a tenth success against us," he explained.

"I find this very frustrating because it proves we are a much better side than our league position suggests, but we seem to have lost our way.

"If we performed like we did against Swansea week in, week out, we would be concentrating our efforts on the other end of the table, but I know better than to look any further than our next game."

Blues forward Carruthers was all smiles after taking his Shrimpers tally to 12 goals from just 21 league starts.

"I'm in the best form of my career at the moment and it's great for me personally to grab another couple of goals," said the beaming 28-year-old.

"But more importantly it's much more satisfying to see us put on a better performance as a team which earned us three precious points.

"We've not been playing well lately and we've dropped down the league table, but we're still only eight points away from the promotion play-offs and we can still get out of this division.

"All we need is a good run and if Swansea can win nine games on the trot, then there's no reason why we can't on the evidence of this display."

Two-goal hero - Martin Carruthers' (right) brace was enough to end Swansea's nine-match unbeaten run

Picture: LUAN MARSHALL

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