Southend United defender John White wants more highs, this season and next

White’s fine form at the back has been one of the biggest plus points for Blues this term.

And the consistent defender, who has already appeared 32 times this season, is keen to keep on impressing for Blues.

“If you had told me at the start of this season I would get this many games I would have snapped your hand off but I want to keep it going,” said White, who made just 17 starts last term.

“We have six games left to go and I would also like to sort out my contract.

“I have a year’s option on my deal at the moment and we have spoken about things.

“But I would like to get it all sorted out quite soon rather than just having talks because I’m happy here.”

White has started the last five games for the Shrimpers alongside Michael Turner at the heart of the back four.

But the duo were unable to stop Blues suffering a 1-0 defeat at table-topping Blackburn Rovers at the weekend.

“We can take plenty from the game in the way we played but ultimately it was very disappointing because we lost,” said White.

“We were a little bit unlucky towards the end with a shot getting blocked and Simon Cox not getting what he thought was a stonewall penalty.

“That’s the way it can go at times but we can definitely take encouragement from the way we played, especially as we were away at Blackburn who are top of the league at the moment.”

Despite the defeat, Blues rose to 11th in the League One standings.

And White is keen to secure a more positive result when the Shrimpers head to Oxford United this weekend.

“We want the win at Oxford now and if we like we did at the weekend I think we’ll have a great chance,” said the 31-year-old.

“It’s another difficult game away from home but we’ve done well there in the past so hopefully we can do it again.”

Oxford are currently 17th in the table and have not won in four games under the leadership of manager Karl Robinson.

The U’s are currently five points above the drop zone.