RICKY Duncan suffered a severe case of deja vu following Southend United’s postponed clash at Rochdale on Saturday.

Duncan had been due to take charge of the Shrimpers alongside Kevin Maher before referee Eddie Ilderton opted to call the game off.

And the postponement brought back a familiar feeling of frustration for Duncan.

“When I was at Cambridge I stepped up to help with the first team and for the first game we got all the way to Mansfield only for the game to get called off so it’s frustrating it’s happened again,” said Duncan, the club’s academy manager.

“Funnily enough the very next fixture was Scunthorpe at home so it’s funny how these things work out.

“But at least I could say I went unbeaten!”

Duncan teamed up with Maher following the departure of manager Phil Brown on Wednesday.

And Duncan was disappointed the duo were unable to take the team at Rochdale.

“It was really frustrating because we had a really good couple of days with the group and we were all really up for the game,” said Duncan.

“The staff and players had all come together and had worked really hard to prepare so for us not to get the chance to put that into use was annoying but there’s nothing we could have done about it.”

But Duncan - who had reached Stockport station with the Shrimpers squad before learning the game had been called off - was not surprised by the decision.

“The kit-man had gone up the night before and was sending us pictures of the pitch when he got there so I knew what was coming,” said Duncan.

“When I saw the pictures and then it started to rain I knew it wasn’t going to be on and we got the call from the referee just as we got to Stockport station.

“We literally got off the train and walked across the platform to get another one home but of course we were all very disappointed.

Duncan will now resume working with the first team squad alongside former Blues midfielder Maher on Monday morning.

But he remains unsure how long they will remain in charge.

“We will just keep on doing what we’re doing until we’re told otherwise but we will both be doing all we can to help the club because we’ve both been associated with it a very long time and it means a lot to us.”

Following the postponement, Blues slipped to 20th in the League One table.