Alan Little was left trying to explain his side's latest disastrous performance following Southend United's Auto Windscreens Shield defeat against Cheltenham Town.

The Shrimpers were sent spinning out of the competition at the first stage at Roots Hall on Tuesday night by visiting midfielder Russell Milton's goal after 15 minutes, leaving Southend without a victory in five games, including three consecutive reverses on home soil.

"I think it was there for everybody to see that my players are lacking in confidence, which comes from not winning football matches," said Little.

"Our performance against Cheltenham was totally flat, which left us settling for second best following a slow start from my team which never got any better.

"We never looked capable of breaking Cheltenham down, who were by far the better footballing side on the night and could have had more goals to their credit if they had taken their chances."

Little handed starts to youngsters Garry Cross, Leon Johnson and Danny Kerrigan in an attempt to stop the rot, but the Shrimpers chief was left criticising his senior squad men for failing to help guide Blues' babes through a tough encounter.

"I was pleased with the display by the youngsters, who I thought gave a good account of themselves under difficult circumstances," added the Seasiders chief.

"But I wasn't happy with the way my senior players failed to help the kids, who made life even tougher for Cross, Johnson and Kerrigan.

"These boys needed leadership on the field from the older players, but they failed to take hold of their responsibilities and give the youngsters the guidance they needed.

"But I believe this test will make the trio even stronger and they will be better players for this experience, even if it was made harder for them than it should have been."

Little defended his decision to ring the changes, which also meant no place in his side for top scorer Neil Tolson, who was replaced by Neil Campbell.

"I needed to use this game to look at one or two things, which after such a poor display has helped me find a few players out," said Little.

"Some of the lads could be accused of lacking heart again, which is totally unacceptable, and although I made changes I still upheld my intentions of taking this competition seriously.

"There's nothing more I would like to do than take this club to a Wembley final, but now our chance is gone for another year, which is very disappointing."

(Right) Going up - Neil Campbell came in for striker Neil Tolson but could not find the back of the net against Cheltenham last night

Picture: MAXINE CLARKE

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