SOUTHEND United manager Chris Powell is determined to deliver an overdue cup run for the Shrimpers.

Blues head into tomorrow’s FA Cup first round clash with Crawley Town at Roots Hall having not won in the competition since 2014.

But Powell is keen to end the run of poor results.

“Fans I’ve met in shops and in petrol stations have all told me we haven’t had a cup run for a long time so we’re overdue one,” said Powell.

“The FA Cup is always special for fans and players alike and it would be nice to be involved in a good run.

“Many moons ago I had a good run here as a player and we played at Sheffield Wednesday in the fifth round.

“I also remember games at Everton and Southampton and I’ve had a good run as a manager before too, getting to the quarter-finals.”

And Powell is therefore fully aware of what a cup run can bring to a club.

“The interest builds round to round and I know what it can do for a football club, the squad, the supporters and the town,” he added.

“I think it would be a nice lift for us to get through and of course we all know what the third round could bring.

“But you have to deal with it round by round so we’re focusing on Crawley.”

Blues head into the game following back-to-back away defeats - at Sunderland and Barnsley - and Powell is eager to get back on track.

“We’ve lost two games in the League against teams who will be top six if not top two so we want to react to that,” said Powell.

“We acquitted ourselves well but we don’t like losing and we have to turn that around with the FA Cup game.

“It’s a competition which can still do wonders and Lincoln immediately springs to mind where that’s concerned as they got to the quarter-finals and played Arsenal not so long ago.

“We will be doing our best to stay in it as long as we can and hopefully Saturday can be the start of something good.”