WHEN it comes to judging Phil Brown’s spell in charge of Southend United, it would be unfair to focus on the final few weeks.

Yes, recent results and performances have been nowhere near good enough but before that plenty of progress had been achieved – along with promotion.

Brown’s high point during his five years in the Roots Hall hotseat came when his Shrimpers side secured a dramatic play-off final success against Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley.

And up until this season every campaign had been an improvement on the last.

With that in mind, a promotion push seemed realistic this term after Blues missed out on the play-offs by just a single point last season.

Expectation levels increased in the summer when chairman Ron Martin allowed Brown to invest heavily in the squad.

But just when big things were expected at Roots Hall, everything began to unravel and relegation suddenly became a real concern.

The run of poor results are there for all to see and so are the lengthy list of damning statistics to underline the seriousness of the struggles.

Quite where it all went wrong for Brown is open for debate, but poor recruitment must be one of the main reasons.

The five summer recruits signed by the Shrimpers average just 6.8 League starts between them so far this season.

And from being a side ready to snap and snarl, Blues suddenly looked a team short of mobility with too many players past their peak.

Brown was perhaps also guilty of being too loyal to certain members of his team and matches became difficult viewing.

The football was no longer fun to watch and as the poor run of results continued the team looked visibly short of spirit and togetherness.

That was particularly apparent during the last few fixtures as the Shrimpers’ frustrating frailties in both penalty areas continued.

The departure of Ryan Leonard also did not help the cause and Brown could arguably have gone even sooner than this.

However, to his credit, Martin is a chairman who likes to gives his managers time to turn things around. Sadly, that did not look like it would happen and a change was needed to stop the rot.

The announcement has been greeted positively by fans, some of whom never warmed to Brown, and 87 per cent of supporters on an online Echosport poll felt the right decision has been made.

Leaving alongside him will be Graham Coughlan, who perhaps never got the credit he deserved during his lengthy stint with the Shrimpers. The Irishman was a popular figure at the club and did a lot of very good work behind the scenes in a variety of roles.

But he has now moved on to make way for a new management team who will be looking to breathe life back into Blues at an important time in the club’s future.

However, Brown’s part in the Shrimpers’ history should never be forgotten.

And, despite the disappointing way things have come to an end, he deserves to leave Roots Hall with respect, not ridicule.