SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown says Nile Ranger must improve his time-keeping before he is considered for a first team recall.

The controversial Shrimpers striker was left out of the squad for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at MK Dons.

And Brown made the decision to leave Ranger behind after he was late for a number of training sessions.

“Nile’s time-keeping one day to the next has been poor and so has his discipline so that’s one of the reasons he didn’t play on Tuesday,” said Brown.

“He’s moving into Southend this week from North London so hopefully we’ll see an improvement.

“He’s closer by so he needs to be arriving on time and when that happens he’ll be considered again for the first team.”

Ranger has been dogged by off the field incidents throughout his career and endured close to two years on the sidelines before joining Blues in 2016.

However, the 26-year-old missed four games at the start of the year following a month long suspension for a serious breach of club discipline.

And Ranger also missed the beginning of the current campaign after being sent to prison for online fraud.

Despite the difficulties, Blues chairman Ron Martin opted to stand by the striker, who in turn spoke of his determination to repay the loyalty being shown.

But Ranger has been unable to find his best form this season, scoring just once in 14 games.

And Brown also said that was part of his decision.

“He’s scored one goal in 14 games and that was a penalty,” said the Shrimpers chief. “That’s another reason behind it.”

Ranger has yet to score for Blues at Roots Hall this season. But he showed his support for the team on social media following Tuesday’s draw.

Ranger tweeted: “Lads done great today. We go again. Have to work on my time keeping.”