SOUTHEND United midfielder Lewis Gard was left frustrated by Saturday’s defeat to Dagenham - but has already turned his attentions towards bouncing back in the league.

Blues were beaten 2-0 in the fourth round of the FA Trophy at Victoria Road on Saturday.

However, Gard has already switched his sights to Friday’s crunch clash with relegation rivals King’s Lynn Town at Roots Hall.

“We go again on Friday now,” said Gard.

“The gaffer said in there after the game, forget about this now and think of the next game.

“We’ve won the last two in the league and we want to keep that form going with another good result against King’s Lynn.”

The Shrimpers had been beaten just once in seven games before Saturday’s setback at Dagenham.

And Gard was disappointed to lose on his return to the team.

“It was good to play,” said the 22-year-old.

“I need to get back out there and try to get back into the team.

“I thought I did alright too but the result wasn’t great and the performance of the team is always much more important.

“I’d be happier if I had played worse and we got the win but it didn’t happen.”

Goals from Mo Sagaf and Junior Morias saw Dagenham work their way through to the next round.

But Gard felt there was very little between the two teams.

“I thought we matched them the whole game,” said the midfielder.

“It felt like they were more aggressive in the boxes and that’s the difference.

“We matched them all over the pitch but they got two in and we couldn’t so we’re disappointed.

“We felt like we gave them a good game but we couldn’t get the ball in the net.”

But, despite the defeat, Gard still feels Blues are on the way up with Kevin Maher in charge.

“When the new management came in there was a big change but in the last few weeks there’s been a real buzz around the training ground,” said Gard.

“We’re starting to win games and we want to get back up the table.

“The next three are all against teams near us in the table but we’re only thinking about Friday at the moment.”

However, Gard is also thinking about his future at the club with his contract now close to expiring.

“I think it’s up at the end of the month,” said Gard.

“Hopefully we can get something sorted but we’ll see what happens.”