JERMAINE McGlashan believes there would be no better time to prove his worth at Southend United.

The winger is pushing to replace the injured Michael Kightly against Portsmouth at Roots Hall this weekend.

And the 29-year-old is determined to make the most of any possible opportunity coming his way.

“There would be no better game to come in for than Portsmouth at home and if I do get a chance then I’ll be doing all I can to make sure I keep the shirt,” said McGlashan.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity but everyone seems to have found a bit more since the new manager has come in so it’s been hard to get into the team.

“Macca (Stephen McLaughlin) and Kights (Michael Kightly) have been excellent on the wings, but Kights has picked up a bit of an injury now so I might get a chance.

“I enjoyed playing the second half at Bury and it would be great if I was able to build on that now.

“But it’s up to the manager and if I have to wait a bit longer then I’ll keep on working hard to make sure I’m ready to take my chance whenever it does come.”

McGlashan has yet to start since Chris Powell was appointed Blues boss and has been on the bench for 15 of the Shrimpers’ last 16 League games.

But he still remains eager to secure a regular role in the starting line-up.

“This season started well for me, I had a run of games and felt like I was playing well but we weren’t getting the results so things got changed around,” said McGlashan.

“I’ve been working hard to try and get back in since then and would love to be a part of what’s happening now because the team are on such a high.”

Blues have not been beaten since Powell replaced Phil Brown at Roots Hall and have taken 10 points from a possible 12 with the former England international in charge.

The unbeaten run stretched to four games with a 0-0 draw at Bury on Tuesday night.

But McGlashan felt the Shrimpers should maybe have secured more than just a point.

“I think we had a few good chances to score and if one of them had gone in then I think we would have gone on to win the game,” said the winger.

“However, Bury have been doing well lately too and haven’t lost under their new manager yet either, so a point wasn’t too bad.

“It kept our run going and now we’ll be looking to get back to winning ways against Portsmouth in another big game this weekend.”

The Shrimpers will head into the clash sitting 14th in the League One standings.