ANTON Ferdinand insists he still feels responsible for Phil Brown losing his job at Southend United.

Brown, who has since returned to take charge at Roots Hall, was dismissed as Shrimpers boss back in January 2018.

And Ferdinand believes he is partly to blame after trying to play while grieving the loss of his mother Janice.

“Even to this day I take part of the blame for Phil Brown losing his job and that’s the way I am,” said Ferdinand.

“It was very sad the way it ended and it was partly my fault too.

“In my second season I wasn’t the same Anton that I was in my first for obvious reasons after losing my mum. It changed my outlook on football.

"People that have lost a parent will understand but football was no longer my get out.

“I wasn’t the same player but I knew how important I was to the team.”

And, looking back now, Ferdinand knows he should have taken time out.

“That pride of being captain overtook the decision I should’ve made which was to step back for a few weeks or a month to gather my thoughts before coming back,” said Ferdinand.

“I didn’t want to let the team down, the club down or the fans but in the end I probably did do that anyway.

“In hindsight I should’ve stepped away and then maybe Phil Brown would’ve stayed in his job but I played a massive part in him losing it.

"We weren’t the same team we had been the year before, there wasn’t the same intensity or that vocal intensity either.

"There wasn’t that leadership and I think I was going through the motions almost, thinking I was doing something good for the club but I wasn’t.”

Brown returned to take charge of the Shrimpers for a second time in March.

And Ferdinand feels the former Hull City boss is more than capable of getting Blues back on track after back to back relegations.

“If there’s somebody who can do it, it’s him,” said Ferdinand.

“No matter what the fans might think about him, he loves football and he loves the club.

“He wears his heart on his sleeve and brings experience the club haven’t had for a few years He can bring stability back but it’s so sad to see Southend out of the Football League. The fans are brilliant and there are some great people who work there too.”

However, Ferdinand believes things went downhill for Blues when Chris Powell replaced Brown.

“Things started to go wrong when Chris Powell got rid of any of the pro’s who had a voice, who played with conviction and who it meant something to,” said Ferdinand.

“Those players are the ones who had a voice in the dressing room.

"The following year you saw a lot of young players in the team and they weren’t ready.

"That for me was the catalyst for Southend going the way it did and why they aren’t in the Football League anymore.”