SOUTHEND Saxons’ struggles continued with a 31-22 defeat at Sutton & Epsom - but head coach Josh Ward was still keen to remain upbeat.

Saxons now seem certain to suffer relegation from the London & SE Premier Division.

But Ward is still looking beyond the end of the current campaign.

“It might sound strange but I actually enjoyed Saturday and the way we performed, “ said Ward.

“We need to look at the bigger picture and keep on doing things the right way.

“We will use the last four games as a platform and springboard for next season.

“We have the right model in place and we’re a holistic club.

“We want to play good rugby and we want to make this a good place to be both on and off the pitch.

“We’re in transition at the moment but we have long term goals we’re sticking to.”

However, second from bottom Southend are close to having their relegation confirmed.

The Saxons are 19 points from safety with just 20 points left to play for.

But Ward felt Saturday was a game Southend could have won.

“We played well and that was the main thing after our previous performance when we were completely off colour,” said Ward.

“Before the game we reminded the boys just exactly why they play rugby and to make sure they enjoyed it.

“There were plenty of positives and on another day I think we could have won.

“We were punished for three lapses in concentration but we scored from some tries and only conceded six penalties in the whole game.”

Chris Shields, Ross O’Brien and Matt Wagstaff all bagged tries for Southend.

And Ward was also pleased to see youngsters Jack Buckley and Jack Waskett make their first team debuts.

“It was great to see both the lads come on,” said Ward.

“They have worked very hard this season and have done well in the seconds so they deserved the opportunity.

“It’s important as a club that we have that pathway in place too.”

Southend head to fourth-placed Hertford this weekend needing a win and other results to go their way to keep their faint survival hopes alive.

Southend Saxons: Ramsey, Radzevicius, Griffiths, Short, McVeigh, Dobson, O’Brien, Shields, Morrison, Wagstaff, Archer, Newton, Campbell-Webster, Forster-Knight, Reeman

Replacements: Waskett, Maggiolo & Buckley