SOUTHEND United loanee Marcus Dackers is keen to keep on testing himself against the best sides in the National League.
Dackers – who is with Blues from Salford City – scored in Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat at table-topping Chesterfield.
And the 19-year-old striker is now setting his sights on second place Wrexham who visit Roots Hall on Saturday.
“I’m in this league to test myself and see where I’m at as a footballer,” said Dackers.
“Chesterfield away first game, Wrexham at home next game.
“They’re two very tough games but I’m here to test myself and see how I do.”
Dackers certainly stood up to the test on Tuesday as he neatly fired home a well-taken shot at the start of the second half.
But he was ultimately feeling frustrated as Chesterfield fought back to take all three points, despite being down to 10 men.
“We were very disappointed not to come away with at least a point,” said Dackers.
“We had chances and could probably have capitalised more at the start of the second half.
“But we only really have ourselves to blame, especially with Chesterfield going down to 10 men.
“We’re very frustrated.”
The defeat pushed Blues down to 14th in the standings and Dackers felt it was Kevin Maher’s side who faded despite having an extra man.
“I can tell why they’re top of the table but I felt like we competed with them for 60 minutes,” said Dackers.
“The last 30 we lost a bit of fight about us, we stopped playing and were a bit sloppy in possession.”
But there were still positives for Dackers to take from the game.
“I’m very happy to have made my debut,” said the forward.
“It’s a massive club and another step up for me.
“To get a goal and an assist on my debut is a great feeling but it’s disappointing it didn’t mean much in the end with us not taking anything from the game.
“There’s a lot of competition here up front as well so I knew I had to hit the ground running. “ And Dackers is now hoping for more highs.
“I want to pick up more results, climb up the table and on a personal note hit the back of the net as much as possible,” said Dackers.
“That’s what I’m here to do and it’s what the manager wants from me too.
“But I’m happy to be here and hopefully we can put it right against Wrexham on Saturday now.”
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