Southend United manager David Webb admitted he was in desperate need of new blood following Saturday's 1-0 Third Division Roots Hall defeat against Cheltenham Town.

Visiting striker Neil Grayson handed Blues their second home loss of the season with a first-half goal which helped the Robins leapfrog the Shrimpers into seventh place in the League standings.

And after watching his men struggle against their promotion rivals during difficult weather conditions, Webb said he needed to find players with leadership qualities who can inspire his team.

"We're not doing enough at the moment and we need to do a lot better," was the Blues chief's honest assessment

"But I haven't got many alternatives at the club to change things around. I need to bring players to Roots Hall who can grab games by the scruff of the neck and make things happen.

"But the budget has already been spent on the players who are already here. I've got to have a rejuggle and start wheeling and dealing to change things."

Webb also believes his current crop of players, who found life tough on a Roots Hall pitch cut to shreds and battered by torrential rain, may not be suited to the harsh conditions of a long English winter.

"People tell me Southend have been near the top of the table at this time of year for the last couple of seasons, only to fall away when the pitches get bad," he added.

"Maybe I haven't got the personnel here to compete in the conditions which we have to put up with for half of the season in this country.

"My players can't always be looking to hit pretty passes, we've got to be able to get stuck in and get the ball out as well."

Webb, whose side slipped to eighth spot in the League standings, was also disappointed with the display of his frontmen and picked out six-goal top scorer Martin Carruthers for special attention.

"We're just not hurting teams enough," he explained. "Martin Carruthers is not the player he was when I first arrived at the club. He hasn't been on his game for the last couple of weeks. Maybe it's all the transfer talk Martin's been caught up in, but it isn't helping."

However, Webb said his players were found wanting across most areas of the pitch. "The big difference between the two sides was that Cheltenham made that extra bit of effort," he said.

"Some of their passing was scruffy, but they worked hard to win the ball back, before playing some decent football. I think my players thought the ball was a hot potato!"

Left-back Damon Searle summed up a disappointed Shrimpers dressing room. "Nothing really went for us, but we made life hard for ourselves," he said.

"And we can't blame the pitch because Cheltenham gave us a lesson in passing the ball. Let's just hope we can bounce back against Torquay in the FA Cup tomorrow."

Martin Carruthers - David Webb reckons the striker is "not the player he was" when the boss returned to Roots Hall in October

Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL

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