Southend United's caretaker boss Mick Gooding blasted his players' performances following their disappointing 1-0 defeat at fellow Third Division strugglers Rochdale last night.

Dale eased their own fears of falling through the non-league trapdoor by taking advantage of Blues' latest below par display to seal all three points through striker Andy Morris' first-half goal.

"Our performance was far from being great," said Gooding, who was in charge of team affairs following former Seasiders chief Alvin Martin's resignation last Friday.

"We didn't start playing until the last 15 or 20 minutes and made it hard for ourselves yet again.

"There wasn't a lot of quality in our passing and we didn't create anything up front to hurt them either.

"But I thought the lads at the back could take some credit because they played exceptionally well. They defended strongly against a bombardment of long balls and worked hard to shut Rochdale out.

"It's just a shame that we couldn't match them in other areas as we had planned to before the game."

Gooding still refused to comment on whether he would be putting his own hat in the ring for the managerial vacancy at Roots Hall.

"I've got no idea what's going on and I've still got to have a chat with the chairman," Gooding added.

"At the moment I can't tell you if I will still be in charge for our game at Leyton Orient on Saturday, or if there will be a new manager in place by then.

"All I do know is that we've got eight games left and I will be back on the training ground on Thursday preparing our players for their next match."

Blues defender David Morley, who started his first game in more than two months at Rochdale, believes Southend will pull away from the bottom of the league table despite this latest setback.

"There's no panic at Southend because none of the players are even thinking about the possibility of this club playing non-league football next season," said the 21-year-old.

"I'm sure that two wins from our final eight matches will make sure we are safe and we're confident of getting these victories."

The ex-Manchester City stopper admitted that, despite the result, it was a relief to get back in the team following his lengthy spell out-of-favour on the sidelines.

"No player likes being stuck in the players' lounge on match days and it was great to be back in the first team at Rochdale," he said.

"I thought I got through the game okay and now I hope to play a vital role in helping steer us out of trouble by pushing Southend further up the league table."

Making his point - Mick Gooding shouts instructions to his players during last night's 1-0 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Rochdale

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