SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown heaped praise on Joe Pigott after the striker bagged a brace in the Shrimpers 2-1 win at Crewe Alexandra last night.

Pigott had been struggling to find his best form since returning to Roots Hall.

But the on loan Charlton Athletic forward got himself back on track against the Railwaymen.

And Brown believes the goal-getting display will do wonders for Pigott’s confidence.

“Joe has responded well, he’s a goalscorer and he’s shown that again here,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“He had three chances and put two of them away.

“He also showed that he wanted to play and maybe the pressure of being away from Roots Hall helped him.

“He needs to learn to deal with that but I’m delighted for Joe because he’s had a tough couple of days.”

Pigott endured a difficult afternoon against Scunthorpe United last Saturday and failed to impress before being taken off.

But Brown was still keen to stick by the 21-year-old.

“It would have been a very easy decision to leave him out after how he played on Saturday,” said the former Hull City boss.

“However, in Joe’s last performance away at Millwall he was part of a winning side so he’s been part of two winning teams and I wasn’t going to make too many changes.

“He’s now showed what he can do again and when he’s confident Joe is unstoppable.

“He will get the headlines and rightly so but he will also be the first to admit it was a real team display that got us the three points.”