CHRIS Powell became the first Southend United manager in 25 years to win their first two games in charge of the club following Saturday’s 1-0 win at Peterborough United.

An early penalty from Jason Demetriou saw the Shrimpers secure all three points at London Road.

And that made Powell the first permanent Blues boss since Barry Fry, back in 1993, to take six points out of six.

“It’s apt that it’s happened here at Peterborough, where Barry is now, and I saw him before the game too,” said Powell, who was a player in Fry’s Southend side.

“He’s a big character and he was big for me in many ways, but let’s hope I can go on further next week.

“That will be a tough test against a very, very good Wigan team but we’ll be ready.”

Blues - who saw off Scunthorpe United 3-2 in Powell’s first game in charge - were made to work hard for a narrow win against Posh.

And Powell was full of praise for his players.

“The game had everything and I saw a lot of things I hadn’t seen yet because it was only my second game,” said Powell.

“I saw we have character, resilience and that we want to do well for one another.

“I saw it in abundance and I’m very proud of them.

“They’ve given me everything. I’m very pleased and our application was outstanding.

“The clean sheet pleased me the most but we could have scored a few more. I’m pleased and it was a good day all round.

“What they are doing for me is first class, but I will always demand more and there are areas we can improve on.”

Blues’ win saw them move up to 15th in the League One table.