SOUTHEND United skipper John White has ordered his team-mates to work even harder in a bid to end their eight match winless streak.

Blues were beaten 2-1 at struggling Northampton Town on Tuesday night.

And White now wants the Shrimpers to match the desire shown by the Cobblers as they bid to get their season back on track.

““We have to be aware that teams like Northampton are down there fighting for their lives and that we should have the same fight as them,” said the 27-year-old.

“We also have to have the same work ethic and determination because we want to get promoted.

“It’s on us, as players now, to snap us out of this disappointing run that we’re on at the moment.

“We just need a win and it doesn’t really matter how it comes.

“We’ll work as hard as ever to correct things and hopefully we’ll get the victory we all want and need against Wycombe on Saturday.”

Blues still sit seventh in the League Two table despite their indifferent run of results.

Their latest defeat came at the Sixfields Stadium as Northampton deservedly came out on top.

And White felt a poor second half display was to blame for the defeat.

“It was really disappointing because at half-time it looked like only one team was going to go on and win the game,” said the right-back.

“But it was a game of two halves from our perspective because we didn’t match them in the second-half.

“They changed their formation, the crowd got behind them and maybe we didn’t mix it up enough to trouble them.

“Half-time probably came at the worst time for us because we lost the momentum that we’d built up and, after that, we just didn’t do enough.”

Blues were locked level at 1-1 with the Cobblers at the break after Michael Timlin had cancelled out Mathias Kouo-Doumbe opener for the home-side.

But it was the home-side who claimed all three points after Chris Hackett grabbed the game’s decisive goal as the Shrimpers’ woes continued.