WHEN a week already includes the latest loan signing being sent to prison without kicking a ball it is tough to see how it could get much worse.

But, somehow or other, Southend United achieved the seemingly impossible at Scunthorpe United on Saturday as they sunk to an incredibly worrying 4-0 defeat.

Setbacks at Glanford Park are certainly nothing new for the Shrimpers and they have now failed in all 13 of their visits to the Iron’s current base.

However, the manner of the latest disappointment was extremely concerning as Blues’ alarming run of results continued.

Things initially did not seem too bad at the weekend and only a brilliant early stop from Luke Daniels to deny Adam Barrett stopped Southend breaking the deadlock.

But Blues resemble a boxer with an incredibly weak chin at the moment and Paddy Madden’s opener for the hosts proved to be a knock-out blow.

The striker has now netted four goals in his last three appearances against the Shrimpers.

But his latest effort completely knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and, once he netted, it was a case of just how emphatic Scunthorpe’s victory was going to be.

A lack of confidence and belief must surely have played a part in Blues’ worrying mindset and, in truth, they would realistically have known it was incredibly unlikely they were going to work their way back into the game.

Going forward, the Shrimpers have rarely posed a threat this season and it was the same again on Saturday.

The strike-force was unable to trouble the Scunthorpe back four and it remains an area of real concern.

Right now, Blues are lacking pace, power, height, creativity and any competition for places in the final third and, at the weekend, the work-rate also dropped below the required levels.

Southend boss Phil Brown singled out the alarming lack of effort from some players in his after match interview but the manager himself is now under massive pressure as Blues are suffering far more than a slight blip in their fortunes.

In fact, since suffering a 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe back in February the Shrimpers have triumphed just four times in 24 outings and have picked up just 17 points from the last 72 on offer.

That more than anything else shows Southend are in serious trouble and, as things stands, will definitely be involved in a relegation fight this season.

The Roots Hall hierarchy have previously insisted Blues will get back on track when the injured players return.

But most of those currently in the treatment room have a horrific fitness record in recent seasons and can certainly not be relied upon to stay clear of further injury setbacks.

With that in mind, Brown is right to say he is currently facing up to his toughest task in management and the Shrimpers supporters are right to be growing in frustration.

Quite how Brown can now turn things around remains something of a mystery as his options in the transfer market are now limited to those without a club.

However, massive and serious questions also need to be asked about the recruitment policy at Roots Hall.

Last season, Blues made a total of 14 signings and 13 of them made very little impression.

David Mooney was the only new face to figure in more than half of the games while the one quality addition – Stephen Hendrie – was bizarrely sent back to West Ham after just five games.

Fast forward to this season and the new additions are also struggling to make an impression.

Of the nine signings made so far, three were on the bench at the weekend, two were taken off at half-time, one is in prison and another two are already injured.

Simon Cox was the only new signing to play the full game at Scunthorpe and struggled to make much of an impression in attack.

Blues have also been unable to complete deals for a whole host of other targets and are well below strength as they face up to the huge fight of maintaining their League One status for another season.