SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown was blown away by Ryan Leonard’s brilliance against Bury at a blustery Roots Hall on Saturday.

Leonard netted a stunning late strike to secure a 1-0 win for the Shrimpers.

But Brown was equally impressed by the midfielder’s energy which stopped the Shakers opening the scoring in the first half.

“The highlight of the game for me was Lenny’s 70 or 80 yard charge back to make a last-ditch tackle when their player seemed to be in,” said the Blues boss.

“He bailed one of his team-mates out and then he’s popped up with a moment of magic to win us the game.”

Leonard’s goal was his third of the season and came after a summer of transfer speculation which saw the Shrimpers opt to turn down offers of £500,000 from Championship duo Millwall and Sheffield United.

And Brown was quick to praise Leonard’s attitude.

“Everyone was asking if he was moving but he’s shown top drawer commitment to the cause,” said the 58-year-old.

“He’s put his name down again for what a player he is too. He can score goals and all parts of his game have improved.

“He’s playing with freedom, he knows what he wants and where he’s going and to me that’s the sign of a good footballer.”

But, aside from Leonard’s moments of brilliance. Saturday’s clash was short of quality.

And Brown felt that was down to the testing conditions.

“As soon as I saw hurricane Brian was in town I thought it was going to play a big part in the game,” said Brown.

“ I was on my balcony along the sea-front this morning and could you see how bad it was. I told the players to expect the worst in terms of the conditions and to expect an ugly game.

But the bottom line is when we look at the paper it will say Southend 1 Bury 0 and that’s all that matters.”

The victory also ended a three match winless streak for the Shrimpers and came after Brown was criticised by sections of the home support for bringing Stephen McLaughlin on for Marc-Antoine Fortune.

“When the substitutes were made we went for a change of formation and that caused a little bit of consternation among our fans and also their players and staff,” said Brown.

"“It gave us the edge a little bit and we got our just rewards. If anyone deserved to win it was us.”