SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown feared he was facing the sack before getting the Shrimpers back on track.

Blues host Bradford City at Roots Hall tomorrow having risen up to 12th in the standings after going five League One games without a defeat.

But, prior to the recent rejuvenation, Southend slipped to third from bottom in the table having secured just two wins in eight outings.

And Brown has now revealed how the wretched run of results left him worrying about his future.

“You were talking to me a month ago and you were probably looking at a mad man", said the 57-year-old.

“The pressure was on and good managers like Karl Robinson and David Flitcroft have lost their jobs since that day and I was probably in line for that too if we’re being honest about it.

“But we’ve been able to get our big players back fit in the team and it’s made a big difference to us all.

“We’re five unbeaten in the league now and everything is far more positive again.

“It’s still very close but we’re looking up the table rather than down and long may that continue as far as I’m concerned because ever since I’ve been here I’ve been working towards the Championship and a new stadium and that hasn’t changed.”

The Shrimpers head into this weekend’s game with Bradford just three points below the play-offs.

But Brown believes the Bantams are now a different team to the one which held Blues to a 1-1 draw at Valley Parade just a month ago.

“It’s strange how Bradford have got on since we last played them and they certainly seem to have changed,” said Brown.

“Every game they were playing in at the start of the season seemed to be a 1-0 or a 2-0 and they were tight games with clean sheets all over the place.

“(James) Hanson wasn’t in the team back then but he’s come in since and there has been a 3-3 draw, a couple of games have ended 3-2 and there have been some unbelievable score-lines.

“A couple of them have gone against Bradford and none were more surprising than the Accrington one so I definitely think this is a different team to the one we played a month ago.”

Tomorrow’s game will also be the first of three in eight games for Blues which Brown believes will prove key.

“This is the start of a very busy and important week for us,” said the Blues boss.

“But we can’t look beyond Bradford at the moment.”