SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown is hoping his new-look midfield can pass their way past AFC Wimbledon tonight.

Brown felt his central four - which included new-boy Josh Wright - produced the best performance of his Shrimpers reign when beating Fleetwood Town on Saturday.

And the 58-year-old - who has been in charge of Blues since March 2013 - is now seeking more of the same this evening.

“On Saturday it was the first time we’ve ever had 600 passes in a game since I’ve been here,” said Brown.

“We kept the ball well but we have to be doing that against 11 men when we play against Wimbledon.

“We used the ball intelligently on Saturday and I have to say it was the best the midfield has played since I’ve been here.

“Josh came in and brought something to the party which I think we have been missing since Will Atkinson left.

“He gave us an energy level and also showed real intelligence on the ball but we need to keep this going now.”

Blues’ 4-2 win at Fleetwood Town handed them their first victory since the opening day of the season and moved Brown’s side up to 16th in the League One standings - three places higher than the Dons.

But Brown is expecting another tricky test at Roots Hall this evening.

“I had the beauty of seeing AFC Wimbledon on Friday and we definitely won’t be taking them lightly,” said the Shrimpers boss.

“They won 1-0 at Blackburn last week and not many teams will be doing that.

“They also had five or six players on the bench who would walk into most teams at this level so this is another difficult game but it’s one we’re going into buoyed by the result we had at the weekend.”

Blues have slight doubts over right-back Jason Demetriou, who suffered a bruised foot at Fleetwood on Saturday.

Elvis Bwomono or John White are on standby to replace him but Anton Ferdinand (groin) and Stephen McLaughlin (knee) should both be fit enough to feature as the Shrimpers seek back-to-back wins for the first time this season.