HAVING fought back from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw with Northampton Town, Southend United should have been perfectly satisfied to have picked up a point on Saturday.

But delve a little deeper and it was hard not to ignore an overwhelming feeling of frustration.

The Roots Hall stalemate extended the Shrimpers’ winless streak to nine matches and means Phil Brown’s side have now taken seven points from their opening eight league games of the season.

That measly total is a point less than at this stage of the previous campaign, which also began desperately slowly before clicking into gear.

The first few weeks of the season were therefore seen as a stage of the year where Blues could pick up the extra points which ultimately kept them out of the top six last term.

However, Southend’s start - which has seen them take just seven points from a possible 24 - is currently worse than the year before due to a combination of factors.

Right now, the Blues side seems to have a soft underbelly which is often resulting in their opponents being able to turn their periods of pressure into goals.

Subsequently, the Shrimpers are now almost averaging conceding two goals a game having let in 15 strikes in just eight games.

Only bottom of the table Oldham Athletic have a worse defensive record in League One and, at present, a lack of confidence is also not helping the cause, along with a poor scoring record which has seen just one single goal from a striker so far.

Without wanting to sound harsh, it has been a case of when, not if, things are going to go wrong and that was certainly true in the first half on Saturday.

Neither side had really threatened during an evenly contested opening period before Nile Ranger deflected the ball into his own net to gift the Cobblers the lead.

Matt Crooks added a second shortly after to leave the Shrimpers staring at a third successive defeat.

But the most pleasing aspect of Saturday’s showdown was the spirit shown by Southend to get back into the game.

Blues scored twice in the space of three minutes at the start of the second half but were unable to fully complete the comeback to leave them sitting 18th in the League One standings.

The Shrimpers will still be hoping to surge back up the table and the return of Anthony Wordsworth will certainly help their cause.

The midfielder – who had been sidelined since April with a hamstring problem – finally returned to action at the weekend and showed the creative qualities which had been sorely missed in his absence.

Wordsworth showed great awareness, intelligence and composure to bag Blues’ second goal and will now be hoping to re-establish himself as a key component of the side.

But, as he bids to become a regular starter once again, Wordsworth will be facing extra competition for his place following the arrival of Josh Wright.

The midfielder - who showed a good eye for goal with Gillingham last season - has now completed a switch to the Shrimpers and should bring more composure in the centre of the park.

Wright will provide Blues with something different and comes to the club at a good age with an excellent recent record of appearances, unlike some of the summer arrivals.

Michael Turner has yet to kick a ball this season while Rob Kiernan has managed just 63 minutes of league football thus far.

However, their injury troubles, plus John White’s groin problem, handed Harry Kyprianou another opportunity to impress in a starting line-up which contained only players who were at the club last season.

Boss Phil Brown will now be hoping for more players to step up to the plate and that a consistent starting line-up can soon be established in order to improve at both ends of the pitch.

Continuity was a key part in the Shrimpers turning things around last season and that must soon be restored if Brown’s side are to end their worrying winless streak and make frustrating results like Saturday a thing of the past.