SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown labelled his side’s 2-0 win at AFC Wimbledon as the perfect way to celebrate his fourth anniversary in charge of the Shrimpers.

Goals from Nile Ranger and Simon Cox saw Blues record a comfortable victory at Kingsmeadow.

And Brown felt it was the best way to mark his big day.

“Everyone knows that 1-0 is my favourite score-line but I’m happy to take the clean sheet and this was a lovely present for my fourth anniversary as the club’s manager,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“It was never going to be a classic here because of the wind and the hard surface which meant the ball was in the air quite a lot.

“We played those conditions well as well as the opposition and made sure we put their back three on the back foot which was key.

“Things are definitely moving in the right direction for us and this is another good win because Wimbledon have a great record at home and they had only conceded two goals in six games before playing us.

And Brown was also happy to see his side shut out at the Dons at the other end of the pitch.

“I said after the Bristol Rovers game that we needed to get back to clean sheets and we’ve got two in our last three games now which really pleases me,” said the 57-year-old.

“This clean sheet was one for the whole team because the work-rate from everyone was outstanding.

The hard fought victory also saw the sixth placed Shrimpers open up a three point gap on Millwall, who sit just below them in the standings.

And Brown is delighted to see Blues gathering momentum at a crucial stage of the season.

“We’re hitting form at the right time and it’s down to the mentality we’ve got,” said Brown.

“We’ve given ourselves half a chance now.”