HAVING never previously been beaten by Fleetwood Town, Saturday seemed perfectly set up for Southend United to kick start their season.

Blues had not lost any of the six meetings between the two clubs and came into the latest clash on the back of two decent results.

But the weekend’s encounter did not go the way of the record books as the Shrimpers’ stuttering start to the campaign sunk to a new low.

Phil Brown’s side were outfought and outclassed in every single department and were extremely fortunate to have been beaten by just the two goals at Roots Hall.

Blues seemed devoid of ideas, confidence, creativity and energy and never looked like being able to trouble their visitors.

The tactics did not help and striker Simon Cox was left incredibly isolated up top in the Shrimpers’ 4-5-1 formation.

Jack Bridge – who was handed his first start of the campaign – was unable to get close enough to Cox to pose problems and Cox’s stature and style of play meant he was always going to struggle against Fleetwood’s physicality.

Perhaps a lack of alternative options was to blame for the problems in the final third but other decisions still seemed quite strange, including taking off a natural central midfielder in Adam King to move Luke O’Neill in to the middle of the park where he has never previously played for the Shrimpers.

The change and those that followed ultimately made little difference as Blues’ poor run continued.

As a result, Southend have now been beaten in four of their first six games this season but the loss of form goes back far further than that.

The Shrimpers have lost 15 of their last 24 outings and have taken just 16 points from the last 66 on offer, stretching back to the end of last season.

Blues have also gone seven home games without a victory and, while those within the club continue to claim last season’s results should not be taken into consideration, they do show that Southend are suffering far more than just a blip in their fortunes.

How to get out of it is now the biggest issue and, of course, more transfers need to be completed.

However, they also have to be the right players and characters to be able to bring the best back out of Blues.

Summer signings Jakub Sokolik and Jermaine McGlashan have been on the bench in recent weeks, the latter being unable to dislodge O’Neill not playing in his natural position.

Fellow new boy King was taken off before the break at the weekend, Mark Oxley could have done better with at least one of the goals while Nile Ranger has only been fit for 25 minutes so far and Blues are in need of a serious makeover to avoid a season of struggle.

There are still some fine players in the Shrimpers squad – including Ben Coker and Ryan Leonard – but they both seem short of confidence.

And everyone connected with the club will now be hoping new signing Anton Ferdinand will be able to help bring a more positive feel to Southend.

On Saturday, the stadium was a cauldron of frustration and disappointment but, although a small handful overstepped the mark by jeering David Mooney onto the pitch, their annoyance was completely understandable.

Blues have three days to bolster their squad before the closure of the transfer window and Brown will need to use them wisely ahead of an incredibly tough September fixture list.

The Shrimpers boss is facing his biggest challenge in charge of the club and will quickly need to lift spirits both on the pitch and in the stands where supporters are starting to become more disgruntled.

Saturday’s display was certainly one of the worst I have witnessed in 27 years watching the club and too many repeat performances are unlikely to be tolerated.