Southend United chief Ron Martin has pledged he will get the right man for the job as he stepped up his hunt for Blues' next manager.

David Webb brought an end to his year long stay in the Roots Hall hotseat on Tuesday and Martin met his fellow directors on Thursday afternoon to discuss a replacement.

"I'm sure we will have a lot of applications and we will view all of the various options before making a decision," he said. "But I'm not going to be rushed into a quick decision as we need to put the right man in place."

Martin confirmed that Webb's number two Rob Newman would continue to look after the First team for the short term until a new appointment was made. Find out more about Southend United FC And he confirmed that the former Norwich City defender would be one of the front-runners for the vacancy at Roots Hall.

"Rob is a born winner and without doubt a motivator," said Martin. "I have a lot of respect for Rob as he is very honest and will definitely be in my thoughts as I look for a new manager.

"People may think he hasn't got enough experience for the job, but I'm sure he has the attributes to be a success in football management. But whatever happens, Rob's future at this club is secure."

And Martin denied that former England under-21 boss Peter Taylor, who put Blues' players through their paces on the training ground this morning, has already been approached for the position.

"Peter has agreed to come in and help out on the coaching side, but at no stage has he, or anybody else, been offered our managerial vacancy," he added.

Finally, Martin said he was disappointed to lose the services of Webb, who he had considered to be a long term Roots Hall appointment when he brought him back to the club last October.

"David and I got on very well over the past 12 months and I am obviously disappointed to see him leave," he explained.

"He came back to Roots Hall with unfinished business and I thought he would get us out of Division Three and push us back towards the First Division.

"But the last thing I would have wanted is for David to have been unhappy at the club and not put his heart and soul into everything.

"When David came back to the club following his recent health scare he started to view things very differently. And I'm sure the fact that he is financially comfortable made his mind up to pursue other options."

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