SOUTHEND United left-back Ben Coker was delighted to end more than three months of injury frustration by returning to action in Friday night’s 0-0 draw against Burton Albion at Roots Hall.

Coker, who played the full 90 minutes against the Brewers, had been out of action with an elbow problem since early September.

And he surprised even himself by how strong he felt in the closing stages of the game.

“I thought I might be hanging a bit by the end because I hadn’t even played a reserve game but I felt brilliant,” said the 25-year-old.

“I just loved being out there again because I had been chomping at the bit for a quite a while now.

“A late winner would have made it even better but I’m just so pleased to be back.

“I’m over the moon and this draw has given us something to build on now.”

The share of the spoils also pushed the Shrimpers back up to sixth in the League Two standings.

Phil Brown’s side struggled to create clear cut chances against the Brewers, who are fourth in the table.

But Coker was buoyed by Blues keeping a clean sheet, especially after they had been beaten 4-1 at Wycombe Wanderers in their last outing.

“From last week to this week there has been a massive improvement and we did the basics well, like the manager asked,” said Coker.

“I thought we played some good stuff too, especially in the first half when we pushed them really high up the pitch.

“It was a tight game, they didn’t create much and we had more than enough to win it but we couldn’t quite do it.

“However, Burton are a strong side to be fair to them and I think both of us will still be right up there at the end of the season.”