SOUTHEND United left-back Stephen Hendrie wants his frustrating three month spell out of favour to end this weekend.

The Scotsman - who has not started a League game for the Shrimpers since the start of September - is in contention to replace the suspended Michael Timlin against Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

And Hendrie is desperate to be given a chance against the Latics.

“I haven’t started a League game since we played against Charlton and it’s been killing me not playing so I hope to get given a chance at the weekend,” said the 22-year-old.

“It’s been a frustrating time for me and it’s hard mentally when you’ve not been playing.

“But my family have been a huge help to me and have been giving me a lot of good advice and support.

“They’ve told me to keep my head down and to keep working hard in training, which is exactly what I’ve been doing.

“Now it’s just a case of waiting for another chance and making sure I play well when I get it, so hopefully that can be on Saturday.”

Hendrie joined the Shrimpers in the summer and started the current campaign as the first choice left-back after Ben Coker suffered a broken leg in a pre-season clash at Colchester.

Hendrie - who also had a short spell on loan with Blues in 2016 - started six of the first seven games of the season before losing his place in the side following a 2-1 defeat at Charlton Athletic.

Since then, Michael Timlin - who is naturally a midfielder - has featured on the left hand side of the back four, restricting Hendrie to just three substitute appearances and one start in the Checkatrade Trophy.

But Hendrie could return to action at Roots Hall on Saturday and insists his lack of match action will not be a problem.

“Fitness wise I’m feeling good and it was nice to get 90 minutes for the under-23s against AFC Wimbledon in the week,” said Hendrie.

“I ended up playing centre-back but I’ve played there before so it wasn’t a problem and I just enjoyed being back out there again to be honest.

“Hopefully I’ll be out there again at the weekend because it’s a big game and one we want to win to move up the table.”