SOUTHEND United’s Luke Prosser is desperate to re-establish himself as a regular this season.

Blues boss Phil Brown opted to turn down a bid from Northampton Town for the centre-back during the summer.

And Prosser, who has started just seven times since the turn of the year, is now keen to force his way back into the manager’s plans.

“I love it here and I’ve been here a long time now but I need to play games,” said 27-year-old.

“There’s competition for places which you need and I have as much chance as anyone else of being involved.

“As long as I’m playing football then I’m enjoying it but it’s a big, big year for me and the whole team.

“We’ve got back into a good league and none of us are writing off back to back promotions.”

Blues chief Brown has also opted to trigger a clause in Prosser’s contract which keeps him at Roots Hall for a further season.

And the defender, who has been with Blues since 2010, was buoyed by the Shrimpers’ 2-1 win against Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night.

“It was a very pleasing performance,” said Prosser.

“I thought we played them off the park for the first 30 minutes and we defended well too.

“We handled everything well, especially when they got a few corners towards the end but we’re still disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet.”

The clash also saw Prosser lining up against Blues’ play-off hero Joe Pigott, who played the full 90 minutes in attack for the Addicks.

And the centre-back relished taking on his former team-mate.

“I gave him a bit of stick but he’s a top lad,” said Prosser.

“To be honest once the game gets going you don’t really realise who you’re marking and you just get on with it.

“But we wouldn’t be where we are now without Joe