SOUTHEND United winger Stephen McLaughlin will head to Portsmouth tomorrow having rediscovered his best form and confidence.

McLaughlin endured an inconsistent start to the season but has been far livelier in recent weeks, with two goals and two assists in his last seven outings.

And the Irishman is keen to keep his good run of form going at Fratton Park.

“It’s been good to get games again and I’m feeling good at the moment,” said McLaughlin.

“When I wasn’t in the team the lads who were playing in my position were doing well so I just had to knuckle down in training, work hard and wait for my next chance.

“But I’ve been very happy with the last few games and I feel a lot more confident again.

“I’ve got a couple of goals in cup competitions but I want to start getting them in the League as well so it would be nice if I could do that at Portsmouth.”

McLaughlin came off the bench to score Blues’ late equaliser at Luton Town on Wednesday night.

The strike enabled the Shrimpers to win the Checkatrade Trophy tie 4-2 on penalties.

And it is a goal McLaughlin is definitely claiming, despite his shot taking a big deflection off Hatters defender Dan Potts.

“It’s definitely my goal, there’s no doubt about that,” said McLaughlin.

“My shot was on target before it hit the Luton player so it’s my goal and I’m definitely claiming it.”

McLaughlin was also among the Shrimpers’ scorers from the penalty spot during the shoot-out.

And the tie brought back fond memories for the winger.

“I thought it was just like Wembley,” smiled McLaughlin.

“We scored late to make it 1-1 and then went on to win on penalties.

“But it was good to get the win and it’s given us a lift going into what will be a difficult game at Portsmouth.”

But McLaughlin is keen for the Shrimpers to prove their worth against the League One leaders.

“We’re a good team ourselves and we want to show that,” said the 28-year-old.

“We need to sort one or two things out but we will be going to Portsmouth on Saturday looking to pick up more points.

“We know how strong they are but we have good players too.

“If I’m picked to start than that would obviously be great but the main thing is making sure we get the three points.”