SOUTHEND Saxons skipper Ian Morrison was keen to remain upbeat following his side’s 38-34 defeat at Dorking.

The narrow setback sent Southend to the bottom of the London & SE Premier Division table. But Morrison was happy with how Saxons recovered from a slow start, which saw them trail 26-3 in the opening half an hour.

“I think the game showed the character we are building week by week, having to mount a comeback as we did,” said Morrison.

“In these moments we definitely develop stronger bonds and experiences to take us forward.

“But we wouldn’t hide from the fact that a slow start is frustrating.

“As a team we’ve highlighted that we need to consistently perform for 80 minutes.

“And despite the slow start we showed a huge resilience, something we perhaps have lacked in previous weeks.”

Southend picked up two bonus points in the defeat and Morrison opted to remain upbeat.

“There are definitely positives from the game,” said Morrison.

“Some of our structures and defensive sets showed real determination and skill. We had highlighted in the week we need to be smarter in attack and we achieved the four try bonus point so clearly our performance in that area improved.

“To also take two points from the match is vital.”

Southend are now one of three teams in the relegation zone locked level on 13 points and Morrison is keen for Saxons to beat the side immediately above them in the table, Westcombe Park, this weekend.

“I don’t feel we need to overwhelm ourselves with expectations but in the same breathe we aren’t going to hide from the significance of the weekend,” he added.

Tony Sprangers bagged two tries for Southend at the weekend, while George Wood, Jack McVeigh and Franco Maggiolo also touched down. The rest of the points were kicked by fly-half Tom Ramsey.

Southend: Dobson, Radzevicius, Short, Vaughan, Navarro, Ramsey, Sprangers, Shields, Morrison, Read, Maggiolo, Wood, Bailey, Forster-Knight, Lopez Replacements: Robinson, Newton & McVeigh