JASON Demetriou will take temporary charge of Southend United's first team as interim head coach.

The 33-year-old steps up to the role for Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie against Chertsey Town pending appointment of a permanent manager.

Demetriou said: “I’m really looking forward to taking the team on Saturday.

"It’s something I want to do in the future so I said I would happily take the team for Saturday.

“With the help of Josh [Coulson] and the staff here we will get the team ready for the game.

“After the previous manager departed, the club knew already that I would like to go into coaching in the future and I’ve done my badges, so I was approached about taking the team and I said yes without hesitation.”

And Demetriou feels preparations  have gone well for Saturday's cup clash  

“It’s been a really good week, it’s nice to see the other side to it,” said Demetrioiu.

“You don’t sleep much because you’re constantly thinking about the team and what we’re going to do but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and the boys have all got a smile of their face.

“Losing, you lose confidence as a group and the main thing this week has been getting the boys believing, getting smiles back on faces and getting that confidence back. That was the main thing.

“I sat down with Josh and some of the senior boys and said we’re going to have an enjoyable week, but we are serious.

"We’ve watched them [Chertsey] quite a bit and we’ll be passing that onto the players so they know what to expect.

“We’ve prepared well and we’re ready for Saturday.”