Reaction from the weekend

Steve Tilson, the manager of Southend was delighted with the result, especially after conceding first and admitted that the Blues were below par on Saturday.

‘This was a tremendous victory for us. It takes us a step nearer promotion and we have got to be very optimistic of achieving our aim.

‘I know we didn’t play as well as we can but at this stage of the season it’s all about results and getting three points. And we succeeded in our aim

‘Throughout the season the team has been united and stuck together. It has been a real team effort from everyone.

From the Blackpool camp both captain Peter Clarke and assistant boss Tony Parks were disappointed about losing after putting in a terrific performance and taking the lead at Roots Hall, but were both confident that securing a place in League One for next season is achievable.

Clarke commented ‘I thought we deserved something out of the game. But at least we can take positives from our performance.

‘We gave a side top of the table plenty to think about and if we can produce the same sort of display in the remaining matches of the campaign I am sure we will avoid the drop

Parks has now set his sight on picking up two wins, or a win and three draws from the remaining five games, ‘We’re probably going for six points but hopefully we won’t need as many as that,’

‘I think we’ve done better in recent games and we’ve kept four clean sheets at home in a row.

There were no comments to the press from manager Simon Grayson after the match on Saturday due to the Yorkshire man being a tad annoyed with some of the decisions that Mr Woolmer made on Saturday.

The camp is still confident that safety can be achieved but what really matter is getting the points on the board.