JOHNNY Herd has signed a two-year professional contract with Southend United.

The promising left-back has impressed in both the Shrimpers' youth and reserve teams this season.

And he has now been rewarded with a first team deal, to the delight of the club's youth team manager Ricky Duncan.

"It's great news for Johnny and ourselves," he said. "Every year the aim is to bring at least one player through the system to sign professionally and this season we've managed two because Peggy Lokando was signed up at the start.

"We're really pleased but Johnny deserves this because of the way he's played. He's been involved with the first team this year and I know he's impressed Steve Tilson during training."

As well as Herd, a quartet of the club's other emerging youngsters - midfielders Jamie Forshaw and Luke Thurlbourne, plus strikers Rhys Henry and James Lindie - have all signed a year-long development contract in a new initiative created by Duncan.

"Sometimes in football you make a decision on an 18-year-old and it can come back to haunt you because players develop at different paces, so this gives us longer to look at these players who all have real potential," he explained.

"They are still classed as professional players but Rhys is only one day away from being in the year below and Jamie is two so it makes sense to give them more time.

"We will make another decision on them in a year's time and if one of them gets kept on them it's been worth every penny."

Duncan's troops, who enjoyed the club's best ever run in the FA Youth Cup when they reached the fifth round last season, also ended the campaign unbeaten in their final seven matches.

That gives the boss hope for the future and he also hopes to improve the club's chances of success by teaming up with Spanish side CD Javea and German outfit St Pauli.

"It's something different," said Duncan.

"Dan Harvey has joined CD Javea on loan already and I think that must be the first time a Southend player has joined a foreign team like that.

"Tom Hopkins has joined them too and throughout the season players and coaches will be given to both clubs and theirs will be coming to us."