SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown insists the number of strikers already at the club meant bringing Elliot Lee back on loan from West Ham was not a viable option.

Lee was temporarily with the Shrimpers in October before a hamstring injury ended his spell without him having made a single appearance.

And Brown, who initially maintained his interest in the 20-year-old forward, now expects Lee to team up with Blues’ promotion rivals Luton Town after deciding he could not justify making another loan swoop.

“The chairman has afforded me 23 or 24 professional players and we’re fairly rich in the striking department with Barry Corr, Joe Pigott, Jake Cassidy, Lee Barnard, Myles Weston and Shaq Coulthirst,” said Brown.

“To bring another one in would’ve been collecting players as the chairman puts it and I don’t want to be seen to be doing that.

“If I had got one out then there was a possibility of getting Elliot Lee in and I probably would’ve taken him again.

“But I believe he might have gone to Luton and we’ve missed out on that one.”

Fifth placed Blues will therefore continue without him this weekend when they head to a Steveange side who are currently ninth in the League Two standings.

And Brown is expecting a difficult afternoon on a poor pitch.

“I haven’t been to Stevenage for a couple of months but I believe the pitch has deteriorated since then,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“I’ve been told it’s like a ploughed field so from a tactical perspective we need to have the right mentality and the right attitude.

“If it’s not pretty then we need to make sure we’re as ugly as our opposition.

“The character of the team will certainly be tested and we will have to withstand the Stevenage onslaught."

As was first revealed in yesterday’s Echosport, Brown again confirmed he would be making changes to his starting line-up.

And he hopes goalkeeper Daniel Bentley, who missed last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Accrington Stanley with a groin problem, will be fit enough to return.

“Dan trained today but we nurtured him through it,” said Brown.

“He will be exposed fully tomorrow and if he comes through that then he will be fine to play.”

Striker Lee Barnard will definitely miss out against his former side with a neck problem while long term absentee Mads Ibenfeldt is still sidelined with a broken foot.