SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown was left ruing his side's failure to finish following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Swindon Town at Roots Hall.

Jack Payne and Noel Hunt both missed great chances for Blues when the game was still goalless.

And their wastefulness in front of goal was punished when Fabien Robert secured all three points for Swindon midway through the second half to leave Shrimpers boss Phil Brown a frustrated figure at the final whistle.

"We're going to have to address the goalscoring situation because we've only got one goal in five games now," said Brown.

"I couldn't have asked any more of the players because we did everything apart from stick the ball in the back of the net.

"We came up against one of the best teams in the division from last season and we narrowed them down to huff and puff really.

"You can hand out all the plaudits for playing well but we've lost the game and we haven't scored so it's something we have to address."

Blues have now picked up just two points from their opening four games of the League One season.

And Brown believes a new striker is needed to help turn around the stuttering form.

"There was a lot of graft, industry and good play but we're missing the final piece of the jigsaw which is a goalscorer," said the 56-year-old.

"We're still in the market for one to come in alongside Noel Hunt who made the best chance of the game for Jack Payne.

"I'm still looking for someone who can score goals but if we keep playing like this then the win is just around the corner."

However, one striker who will definitely not be coming to Blues is Izale McLeod who has now joined Notts County from Crawley Town in a deal believed to be around £150,000.

And Brown, who had been keen to bring in the former MK Dons forward, was put off by the size of the price tag.

"We were keen to sign Izale but their valuation was different to ours," said the Shrimpers chief.

"We felt it was a lot of money to pay for a 30-year-old with a history of injuries so we're now looking at another couple of forwards."