YOUTH team coach Danny Heath hailed a 'fantastic tournament' organised by West Ham United as Southend United travelled to Little Heath at the weekend to take on the hosts, Millwall and Reading.

“It was brilliant,” Heath declared.

“West Ham put on a fantastic tournament for the lads. It was something different from their normal games programme and I’d like to say a big thank-you to West Ham as the players have really loved it and so did all the staff.”

The format involved the four teams playing each other in three 40-minute matches - split into two 20-minute halves - with three points awarded for a win and one for a draw. At the end of the competition, the top two teams played in a final, with the other two playing off for third place.

Blues started brilliantly with a brace by forward Tayo Adedoja earning a 2-1 victory against Millwall in the opening match, but a 1-0 defeat to Reading meant only a win over the Hammers in the final match would be enough to guarantee a place in the final.

Ultimately the teenage Shrimpers were unable to overcome the home side, with West Ham grabbing a single-goal success before Millwall matched that scoreline in the final game of the day.

“I thought the boys performed well and they can be proud of how they played,” said Heath.

“If you give West Ham and Reading an extra yard, they will punish you, and we had opportunities against both of those teams. We lacked a bit of quality on a consistent basis, and that can be the difference when stepping up a level.”

“We have got a lot of first-years this season, so another thing we’ve spoken to the boys about is their communication and being a group on the pitch to organise each other.

"That was a massive strength for the youth team last year with the likes of Jimmy Wallace, Oli Coker, Tommy Davis, Ergis Shala and Cam Brown.”

“Ultimately, they are the ones playing the game within the four white lines, so they need to take responsibility on the pitch. We can help to a certain degree from the side, but you need to have more than one person prepared to grab the game by the scruff of the neck,” he added.

Despite the results, Heath was encouraged by the performances of the squad, and how they managed to get more minutes into their legs during an arduous day against Category One and Category Two opposition.

“We had a staff meeting yesterday and one of the positives we spoke about was the amount of players in the under 18s and under 23s that have had 90 minutes already,” he claimed.

“It shows that the boys are robust and they can deal with that many minutes in a short space of time.”

“In the long-term, looking at the season ahead, the gaffer is big in the first-team about them being fit and out-running the opposition, so it’s a massive positive that players are showing they can play 140 minutes. That’s longer than a match going into extra time.”

“We’ve picked up one injury, which was through a tackle, so that was a contact injury, but no-one’s picked up any strains or anything like that, and that shows the work that the lads have put into their training sessions, and that it makes them ready physically on a matchday.”