Southend United manager Rob Newman wants his team to adopt the New Years Day Roots Hall clash against promotion chasing Oxford as a clean slate.
The Shrimpers' home form this season has been disastrous, with 17th placed Blues crashing to a seventh league defeat on the Essex coast, 2-1 against Scunthorpe on Sunday.
"We know we have underachieved at Roots Hall," said Newman. "At the start of the season you expect to pick up the majority of your points at home, but that hasn't been the case with us.
Frustration : Damon Searle is among the Blues regulars who are out to improve on their disappointing Roots Hall showings Picture: TERENCE BUNCH
"We now have a new year, which heralds a new beginning, and we need to ensure we use 2003 to put things right in front of our own fans.
"They deserve better and it would be nice to think we could go between now and the end of the season without losing again on home soil."
And Newman urged his troops to follow the example of Third Division form team Oxford. "Oxford are flying at the moment," he added.
"I believe we are capable of going on a good run and climbing the table. Earlier in the season we travelled to Oxford without a victory, but we beat them and went on to clock up three successive wins.
"That is just the sort of sequence we need now and if we carry on putting the same application into our game I'm confident we will be on the right track.
"We were unlucky against Scunthorpe on Sunday. We created a lot of chances, but never put them away and missed out on the points. But if we get it right in the final third of the field it can be a different story against Oxford."
Newman also said tomorrow's match, kick-off 3pm, could still be in some doubt. "We've had a lot of rain and the pitch took a real hammering during the Scunthorpe match," he explained.
"It's still quite boggy and if the rain continues to fall down hard then there is a chance the game could be called off."
Ever-present goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan (thigh) is a slight injury worry and Southend number two Daniel Gay is on standby. Blues midfielder Stuart Thurgood will sit out the last match of his three game ban.
Published Tuesday, December 31, 2002
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