SOUTHEND United legend Steve Tilson believes Chris Powell will immediately earn the respect of the squad - if he does become the new Shrimpers boss.

Powell - who linked up with Tilson down the left hand side during his playing career with Blues - remains the favourite to replace Phil Brown at Roots Hall.

And Tilson, a former Southend manager himself, feels the players would warm to his ex team-mate.

“Powelly is a great bloke and if he does become the manager then he’s someone the players will immediately respect because of his personality,” said Tilson.

“Man management is really important and Chris would be good at that because of the way he is.

“He’s been in charge of some big clubs and he would be a good appointment. There’s never any guarantee in football that things are going to be successful but he would certainly have real passion for the club and I obviously hope he does really well if he does come in.”

However, Tilson - who spent seven years in charge of the Shrimpers - feels whoever does come in faces a tough task to turn things around.

“It’s not going to be a breeze for whoever goes in there,” said the 51-year-old.

“A new manager isn’t going to come in and suddenly make everything OK again. I’ve seen a few games this season including the last two and, for me, they just didn’t look like scoring too often. That’s a worry especially when you’re not keeping clean sheets either. I think people are aware of the budget there and the wages being paid and the team should be doing much better than they are.”

But Tilson also believes an appointment needs to be made soon in order for things to be turned around.

“I think two or three new players are needed and time is running out in the transfer window for that to happen,” said Tilson.

“I think ideally a new manager would come in sooner rather than later and I really do hope things get better because Southend is a club which will always mean a lot to me.”

Blues have been beaten in eight of their last nine games but Tilson feels the appointment of Powell would lift the fans.

“I suppose some of the younger fans wouldn’t remember Chris but the older ones will and he will be very popular with them,” said Tilson.

“For me, Stan Collymore is the best player Southend have had and Freddy Eastwood is right up there too but so is Chris, especially as he went on to play for England.”