I’VE always wanted the Southend United fans to be back in the North Bank And the backing we received from the stands on Monday really helped us to battle for a 0-0 draw against Crawley with just nine men.

It was a terrific combined effort from everyone at the club, especially as it was our second game in three days, but it again showed what you can achieve when you stick together as a team.

We had to dig deep to get the draw and Chris Barker took one for the team by handballing the shot on the goal-line.

But it was a terrific feeling after the game and it definitely felt more like a victory than a draw.

The only disappointing factor was Liam Dickinson’s injury.

He’s been a big part of our team and squad this season and on behalf of all the lads I’d like to wish him a speedy recovery.

The same goes to Jean-Paul Kalala, whose injury has now also been confirmed as long term and we all hope to see them back in action sooner rather than later.

Other than that it has been a good few days for us.

We went in to the Burton match on the back of some negative incidents and press, but that’s all forgotten about now.

Whatever form Burton are in it’s never easy going there and it was great to get the win.

That mattered more than my goal, but I certainly enjoyed getting back on the score-sheet and being in the team again after a frustrating little period for me.

The Burton trip also saw Lee Hills and Cameron Belford make their debuts and they’re both great lads who have settled in well.

Things couldn’t really have gone much better for Cameron since coming in and neither of them are afraid to have their say.

Lee also had to sing during our team meal, like all our new signings do, and he went for Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror.

It wasn’t the best rendition I’ve ever heard, but he did a nice little dance and it was good entertainment.

Fair play to him for doing it but unfortunately Jack Sampson and I also had to sing after losing a game in the warm up at training that day.

We weren’t too sure what to do until we remembered it was Chris Barker’s birthday.

We therefore sung happy birthday to him but we couldn’t find enough candles for the old man’s cake!

We’re now all looking forward to the Accrington game and because it’s our next game it’s also the biggest one of the season so far.

Just like all the other lads, I will be fine to play again if required and there’s no time for feeling tired at this time of the year, especially when there’s still so much to play for.

FULL COLUMN IN THURSDAY'S ECHO