SHAUN Hobson insists Southend United must start to enjoy their football if they are to hit top form this season.

The Shrimpers head to Grimsby Town on Friday sitting just above the National League drop zone.

But Hobson feels Blues cannot afford to keep dwelling on previous defeats.

“We have to stay positive,” said the defender.

“I think we look back at games we’ve lost, accumulate them and take it all into the next one.

“We’ve got to put it behind us and just look forward.”

However with the Shrimpers struggling again this season it has been tough to remain upbeat.

But Hobson feels a positive attitude is key.

“You have to enjoy it or you can feel caged,” said the centre-back.

“When you get older football changes.

“It’s not like it is when you’re younger when you just go out and play with a smile on your face.

“All of that goes out of the window but you have to try and keep that in mind.

“Enjoying it is one of the most important things because it makes you play better and it makes you more confident too.

“You can get down about it, you think about it way more and it becomes less natural.

“I think enjoying it has to be one of the most important things because you need to be happy as a person.”

But Hobson found that particularly tough at the start of the season when he struggled to make the starting line-up.

Last term’s player of the year was on the bench for four of the first games of the campaign.

And the Manchester born 23-year-old found it difficult to deal with.

“It’s unusual for me not playing and it’s tough, especially when you’re away from home,” said Hobson.

“I’m here to play and when you’re not playing it gets you down mentally.

“You feel down and it’s hard to pick yourself up, especially when you’re seeing your team lose.

“But you have to look at the positive side.

“I’m blessed to be here and blessed to be alive.

“I was down but I feel positive now.”

And Hobson turned things round by speaking to those closest to him.

“I just worked hard and spoke to my mum!,” said Hobson, “I tried to be positive and just be me.”

Hobson has now started eight of the last nine games and has been further boosted by the arrival of head coach Kevin Maher.

“He’s brought in positive vibes and his ideas are areas I think we’ve needed to be better at,” said Hobson.

“He’s making us improve as players but we obviously need results.

“At Dagenham I think we still had some of the old regime in us but after that we’ve improved drastically.

“You look at the last two games though and we’ve given away soft goals which we must stop.”

Hobson will be looking to make sure Blues are more solid at Grimsby tonight.

But he does not mind if he plays in a back four or five.

“Formations are what they are,” said Hobson.

“I don’t think they matter too much.

“It’s how you play and how you press.

“It’s a battle and you have to work hard.

“If you do that then your quality shows after that but we have to be better with our quality.”

That will certainly be the case at third placed Grimsby tonight.

But Hobson is not daunted by taking on the Mariners.

“We are where we are but this league is weird,” said Hobson.

“I’ve played in it before and there's not much difference between any of the teams, it’s just down to what happens on the day.”

The Shrimpers will be looking to get back to winning ways this evening in a match being screened live on BT Sport.

But Hobson is not sure if his family will be able to watch him.

“They haven’t seen me play in years and they probably don’t even know its on TV to be honest so I’ll have to let them know,” he added.