Our last home game against Scunthorpe was a tight affair and there wasn't too many chances at either end, Although we were hoping to continue our winning streak, I was delighted with a point In a tense midfield battle, particularly as we lost Trevor Benjamin with a dead leg just before half-time.

Following on from that, we visited Walsall in the AutoWindscreens Shield which was another tough game. The Saddlers are going quite well in the second division and it was pleasing that we matched them before eventually exiting the competition on penalties.

The start of the game knocked us for six a little bit after they scored in the opening seconds, but we shouldn't be downhearted as we were the better side over the 90 minutes. Regarding the penalty shoot-out method, it's a case of swings and roundabouts, because we beat Exeter on a penalty shoot-out in the previous round.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the fans for coming in their droves to support the lads, and this was particularly evident in our trip to Leyton Orient last weekend.

Before the game I sent out a message to our supporters to give us substantial backing and they answered my plea in great style. We began the game well but we didn't capitalise on the chances that we created early on, and ultimately, we paid the price for that.

We lost Andy Duncan before half-time and that was a major blow. It put the team under tremendous pressure as we were already chasing the game. Neil Mustoe also received his eighth caution of the season which rules him out of next week's visit to Exeter and I've also learned that Jamie Campbell is also out of the game after getting booked at Walsall.

With this in mind, we're getting to that stage of the season where we're getting one or two absentees and the squad is being stretched to its limits. However, it gives me the opportunity to bring in other members who have done well to the reserves to keep us going at this crucial stage.

I'm also looking to make a couple of additions to the squad before the transfer deadline so as to give us a few options, as it is vital that we always have alternatives in every position to keep everyone on their toes.

Turning my attention to today's game, I would like to welcome Alvin Martin and his Southend United team to the Abbey and congratulate them on a convincing win against Brighton last weekend.

It's a vital game for us as we need to return to a winning habit and it's a local derby in the sense that it's not too far down the road. We need to get back on track and although they have struggled since coming down last year we were rather fortunate to gain all three points at Roots Hall in September.

It's sure to be another difficult one this time, and knowing Alvin, his no-nonsense approach to the game is sure to have rubbed off onto his lads.

The last point I want to raise is that we managed to get more than 1200 people into the Abbey on Wednesday night to see our young lads play against Chelsea. With that in mind, we've decided to switch the Southampton game next month to an evening kick-off, These games have proved popular with the supporters and hopefully there will be a few stars on display.

We've taken on a couple of trialists, one of which played in the Chelsea game. I gave Andrew Ducros, a centre-forward from Coventry, a run-out and he showed some good signs. I also wanted to give Frenchman Alain Landeut a game, but we didn't receive international clearance in time.

I'm also looking to do a deal to bring in Sam McMahon from Leicester on a loan basis. He's already played the maximum two reserve games allowed for a trialist and he's contracted to the Foxes until the end of the season. I hope we can get him to the Abbey for a few months to see how he fits in with a view to next season.