SOUTHEND United boss Chris Powell labelled his side’s first 45 minutes against Gillingham as the best of his managerial career.

The Shrimpers scored four times before the break at Roots Hall.

And Powell - who has had 231 games as a manager - was delighted with the way Blues responded to Friday’s 4-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

“The reaction and intent of my players was first class and in all my games as a manager I don’t think I’ve ever seen a reaction or a performance like that because for 45 minutes it was superb,” said Powell.

“The last two nights had been sleepless nights for me.

“I had been thinking about if I should make changes and if so how many or should I give the players a chance to put things right.

“But I’m hoping I’ll be sleeping much better after that now.”

Michael Turner, Theo Robinson, Michael Kightly and Stephen McLaughlin all netted for the Shrimpers in the emphatic victory in front of more than 8,000 fans.

And Powell was full of smiles at the final whistle.

“I’m very proud of the team and the supporters because Friday was tough to take,” said the 48-year-old, whose side remain 12th in the League One table.

“For us to get four goals is nothing short of outstanding.”

And Powell was also thrilled to see Robinson score on his return to the starting line-up.

“Theo is someone I know well and I actually played alongside him many years ago,” said Powell.

“At the start he wasn’t involved but he kept catching the eye in training.

“It was hard to get him in the team because we were winning games but I’ve introduced him back into the squad and even when he wasn’t involved he trained well.

“He scored four goals in the reserves and I knew I had to get him involved.

“He’s continued to stand out in training and I thought he stretched the play on Friday when he came on against Plymouth.

“He’s done that again and his finish was emphatic because it was difficult to score.”

Blues were unable to add any more goals in the second half.

But Powell felt the Shrimpers would have taken plenty from the game.

“What you’re guarding against is complacency and teams that will have a reaction in the second half,” said Powell.

“You have to match that and in some ways it was good to experience playing against 10 men.

“Sometimes you can get over-excited and you just have to make sure you keep the ball to wear the other team down.

“We did it in spells but we didn’t do it enough.

“We had chances but we put them to the sword in the first half.”