SOUTHEND United striker Simon Cox wants to end pre-season on a high this Saturday.

Blues travel to Leyton Orient for their final warm-up fixture this weekend.

And Cox is keen for the Shrimpers to shine in their last game before the League One campaign gets underway.

“It’s a nice game to finish pre-season with and it would be great to finish pre-season on a high ahead of the first League game against Doncaster,” said Cox.

“Quite often in pre-season you will finish off by playing against a big club and nine times out of 10 you lose.

“You then head into the next game on the back of that defeat and hopefully we can avoid that at the weekend.

“Everyone will also want to play well to try and show they should be in the starting line-up for that first game.

“And for me personally, it would be nice to go there and get a goal or two.”

Cox is about to enter his third season with the Shrimpers.

And, despite the hard work, he has enjoyed the team’s preparations.

“Different managers have different ideas in pre-season and this year we’ve done a lot of work on our shape, which I think is good,” said Cox.

“It’s been very hard, like you would expect, but we’ve done a lot of team work rather than just squeezing that in late on, which I think will benefit us.”

Last time out, the Shrimpers drew 1-1 with Leeds United at Roots Hall.

And Cox, who worked tirelessly during the summer break, already feels in good shape.

“I came back feeling good and I’ve worked hard with the new fitness coach Stef (Russo),” said the 31-year-old.

“You don’t get fully fit and sharp until two or three games into the season but my fitness levels are high."