ALEX Welsh may not be a well known name among Southend United supporters but he will have played a huge part in any success the Shrimpers may secure this season.

For it is Welsh who Blues' player of the season Daniel Bentley credits for turning him into a goalkeeper as a youngster at Arsenal.

And the highly regarded coach, who now works for Tottenham Hotspur, will be tuning in to hopefully watch Bentley triumph against Stevenage in the play-offs.

"I first worked with Daniel at the age of 10 and he was a real diamond who just needed a bit of polishing," said Welsh.

"He always had the ability and a willingness to learn which as a coach is a dream combination to work with.

"He's now a terrific goalkeeper and a really nice man and I would be as proud as punch to see him line up at Wembley in the play-off final.

"When you work with a youngster for that amount of time you never stop being their coach and I'm so pleased he's doing well for Southend.

"I just hope they can win promotion now because I really as gutted when I saw the Morecambe score come through."

Welsh worked with Bentley at the Gunners until the age of 16 when he was signed by the Shrimpers.

But Welsh believes the shot-stopper actually benefitted from leaving Arsenal.

"I honestly couldn't tell you what happened to the goalkeepers who were kept on ahead of Daniel and it's been much better for him to go and get games," said Welsh.

"So goalkeepers stay at clubs for what I call Prince Edward syndrome because they're happy to be eighth or ninth in line but Daniel wasn't like that.

"I remember there being quite a few clubs interested in for but he had the hindsight to pick Southend.

"He thought he would have more of a chance to play games there and he also picked them because they were his home-town club so it's great he's done so well but it's not really a surprise."

Bentley swept the board at Blues' end of season awards and has also broken two club records for clean sheets this term.

But Welsh is now backing the youngster to go on and enjoy many more career highlights.

"Any footballer needs that opportunity to play but if Daniel gets them he will take them and he could go as high as the Champions League for me," said Welsh, who worked with the Gunners for 23 years.

"There's no reason why he can't play at that level because he has all the attributes you need."

However, if it had not been for Welsh, Bentley believes he could still be an outfield player.

"I went to Arsenal as a 10-year-old and was instantly greeted by Alex but I was an outfield player at the time who always enjoyed going in goal," said the Wickford based shot-stopper.

"He made me choose between being a goalkeeper and being an outfield player but I chose being a goalkeeper partly because he made it so enjoyable while training.

"He turned me into a goalkeeper and gave me the foundations of what it took to take my goalkeeping onwards.

"I trained with Alex at least three times a week every week for six years. He worked me very hard and put a lot of his time and effort into helping me develop.

"I will always be very grateful to him."