WE decided to make a few of our players available for moves last week and since then there has been an awful lot of interest in our young striker Jason Williams.

We’ve had four Conference clubs get in touch about trying to sign him on loan and there have been a couple of local clubs coming in for him as well.

It’s good to have seen that level of interest and I do believe that Jason will benefit from going out and getting games at this stage of his career.

But this will be happening with the long term goal of him coming back and continuing his career with Southend United.

He will certainly not be leaving us as he’s very much someone we have high hopes for.

WINNING ON THE ROAD

WE’RE on the road again this weekend as we travel to Portsmouth and, in modern football, it is now perhaps easier to win your away games.

If you look at the Premier League, eight of the 10 games were won by the away team last weekend and we’ve won more games on the road than we have at Roots Hall this season.

Our away support is outstanding and there is always a real party atmosphere.

I think they have a few beers, relax a bit more and before you know it we’re doing well.

The atmosphere at Oxford last weekend was fantastic and it was the same at Cambridge on Boxing Day.

We’re taking another excellent following to Portsmouth at the weekend and it was actually that game last season which put a marker down for me with the Southend fans.

We had 800 there on a Tuesday night, despite there being all kinds of problems on the road.

It showed me what they were all about and I want them to have smiles on their faces.

It’s harder to replicate the same kind of atmosphere at Roots Hall when the fans are spread out and there are 5,000 or 6,000 supporters at the games.

But if we could also get that party atmosphere going in our home matches then we have a real chance to kick on during the second half of the season.

WIN AT OXFORD UNITED WAS MAGNIFICENT

THE manner of our win at Oxford United was magnificent.

Everyone has been lifted by it and it’s one of those games that could definitely be seen as a turning point in the season.

But that’s only going to be the case if we kick on and keep playing with the same level of application.

To be honest, if you had offered me four points from Oxford and Portsmouth away I would probably have taken them.

However, having now won at the Kassam Stadium, we want to go to Fratton Park and make it six out of six.

There’s a lot of expectation at Portsmouth from their big crowd but that can work against them if they’re not playing well.

They haven’t been getting too good results just recently and we will be doing all we can to try and make sure that continues.

SPOT OF BOTHER AT EVERTON

I DIDN’T actually see the penalty incident at the Everton game when Kevin Mirallas took the ball off Leighton Baines for a spot-kick and missed.

But I’ve heard a lot about it since.

Dean Windass was one the people I heard on the radio and I remember a penalty being taken off him when I was at Hull but luckily the player who took it still scored.

The problems start when the penalty is missed but it’s not a situation I’ve experienced myself.

Barry Corr is our designated penalty taker and Jack Payne is second in the list.

After that, they can fight it out among themselves but I know both Lee Barnard and Myles Weston like to take them.

ADAM BARRETT AND KEVAN HURST YET TO TRAIN THIS WEEK

NEITHER Adam Barrett or Kevan Hurst have been able to train this week yet.

Adam has a calf problem and Kevan is still out with him hamstring injury but they shouldn’t be out for too much longer.

There’s a chance they could train in the next couple of days and be in contention for Saturday’s game at Portsmouth.

But we won’t be taking any risks and, with the strength of the squad we have here now, we don’t need to take a gamble on someone’s fitness.

They will return when they’re ready and it will be a big boost to have them available again.