ANTHONY Wordsworth says he is keen to show his value to Southend United against Oldham Athletic this weekend.

Wordsworth - who has missed the last four matches with a calf injury - hopes to be able to return for Saturday’s fixture at Roots Hall.

And the midfielder is determined to show why he deserves to be offered an improved contract by the club.

“I really do love being at Southend and staying here would definitely be my number one option but contract talks have stalled because I don’t think I’m being valued as high as I should be,” said Wordsworth.

“I know all footballers might say that during contract talks but if you look at my goals to game ratio and the win percentage when I’m in the team I definitely feel as though I deserve to be valued as one of the best players.

“I also have a young family to think about so I want to get something sorted and that means I’m desperate to play in all the games.”

Wordsworth - whose current contract expires at the end of the season - has missed Blues’ last four matches with a calf problem. But the 28-year-old expects to return to full training tomorrow and hopes that will lead to him facing Oldham this weekend.

“It’s been disappointing not playing because I was just feeling like I was getting going again,” said Wordsworth.

“We went to see a specialist and he said there was a little tear in my left calf so I needed to rest it for two weeks. That’s up tomorrow and it’s been feeling good so hopefully there will be no reaction to coming back, especially as it’s a must-win game for us at the weekend.”

Wordsworth has not lined up since starting the Shrimpers’ FA Cup clash at Yeovil Town at the start of November. But the midfielder does not feel featuring in the game while not fully fit worsened the injury.

“The injury is the same as it was before Yeovil and I’ve been quite lucky it didn’t make it any worse,” said Wordsworth.

“I could have been out for much longer.”

Wordsworth has scored three goals in 10 games this season, while Blues have failed to win the last nine League matches he has missed.