SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown insists his side will be heading to MK Dons on Saturday buoyed by their midweek battle against Bradford City.

Anthony Wordsworth’s second half header handed Blues a 1-1 draw at Valley Parade.

And Brown remains delighted by the determined display.

“We will be going to MK Dons buoyed by what happened against Bradford which is great news,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“Everyone keeps telling me that this team can’t get wins or points if we go behind but we should have won at Bradford after coming back from a goal down.

“We were the better team in the second half and had the better chances too.

“We had the majority of the play and I’m delighted by the away performance.”

The improved away day display followed three heavy setbacks on the road.

And Brown is hoping Blues have now turned a corner in their season.

“We capitulated after going a goal down at Scunthorpe, Rochdale and Northampton but hopefully those days are behind us now,” said Brown.

“Bradford is a tough place to go in front of a big, hostile crowd and you need to be brave going there.

“That’s exactly what we were though and hopefully we’ve turned a bit of a corner in our season now.

“We can go to MK Dons in a confident frame of mind focusing on what happened at Sheffield United, Bolton and Bradford not Rochdale, Scunthorpe and Northampton like everyone seems to be doing.

“We’ve had some big performances against big clubs in big grounds and we need another one on Saturday now.”

Blues will head into the game sitting 19th in the League One table.

But they could have been slightly higher had Nile Ranger not failed to convert an inviting Wordsworth free-kick in the closing stages at Bradford.

And Brown is not sure whether or not Ranger will be able to line up for a third start in quick succession this weekend.

“I’m still disappointed Nile didn’t get the winner at the end there because he’s working so hard and putting in a lot of effort,” said Brown.

“This is the first time he’s played back to back games for a very long time.

“We will wrap him up in cotton wool today and tomorrow but it might be a big ask for him to play on Saturday.

“We will have to see how he is in training.”