NOT since 1965 had Southend United been able to beat Coventry City.

But the Shrimpers ended that wretched record with relative ease on Saturday with a convincing 3-0 victory against the Sky Blues at Roots Hall.

The visitors saw more of the ball in the opening exchanges and came close to scoring when Jim O’Brien’s long range shot was tipped onto the crossbar by Daniel Bentley.

However, Tony Mowbray’s side rarely threatened after that and, once Jack Payne had fired Southend in front, there was only ever going to be one winner - even when Gary Deegan was dismissed at the start of the second half.

Blues’ well deserved win came just seven days after a spirited goalless draw at Peterborough United which seems to have signalled a fresh start for manager Phil Brown and his players.

The share of the spoils ended a run of three convincing setbacks which led to the Blues boss deciding to shake up his squad.

As a result, four players have now been brought in on loan while at least three look set to leave as the Shrimpers chief plots to make the improvements he feels are needed to keep the club in the hunt for a second successive promotion.

So far the signs are promising too with Blues looking back to their well organised best – only this time with more of a threat at the other end of the field.

One of the new faces – Tyrone Barnett – bagged two more goals at the weekend and continues to look a real class act.

Barnett has brought more pace, power and physicality to the Southend strike-force and his arrival also seems to have brought the best out of Jack Payne.

The youngster’s talent has never been in doubt but sometimes his position has been and it has often been a struggle to find him a regular role suited to his skills.

But, with the Shrimpers having now reverted to a 5-3-2 formation, Payne has been given the freedom to shine and he certainly did just that on Saturday.

However, it was not just the youngster who impressed against Coventry as wing-backs Luke O’Neill and Stephen Hendrie also caught the eye and played a crucial part in Blues’ ending a four match winless streak.

The victory also continued the previously uncharacteristic glut of goals at Roots Hall where 15 efforts have now hit the back of the net in the last four games.

Eight of those have come at the wrong end but the Shrimpers have now recorded back to back clean sheets and look far more solid since Cian Bolger returned to the starting line-up as an additional centre-back.

Bolger’s aerial prowess has proved key along with Adam Barrett’s organisation skills and the experienced defender, who currently captains the team, has also looked more comfortable in the new system.

But not everything went to plan at the weekend as Blues picked up their first red card of the season.

Deegan’s dismissal came six minutes into the second half as the aggressive midfielder finally fell off the disciplinary tight-rope he has been walking for most of the season.

The Irishman had been booked nine times in 12 starts prior to Saturday’s dismissal and needs to find a way to maintain his aggression without having to hinder his play.

Constant yellow cards limit his involvement and impact on a game and mean he is just one error away from leaving his team-mates in trouble.

Fortunately for him, the Shrimpers were still able to secure all three points at the weekend but he will now have a real fight on his hands to get back into the starting line-up after completing a one match ban.

That, more than anything else, will teach the midfielder a valuable lesson as he could well miss out on being able to help Blues build on their hugely important morale boosting victory.