MARC Laird has revealed he is interested in staying with Southend United on a permanent basis.

The midfielder has been in fine form since joining Blues on loan from Leyton Orient last month.

And he is keen to remain at Roots Hall beyond the beginning of January when his current deal expires.

“I'm really enjoying it here and I've settled in well so I would definitely be interested in staying for longer,” said Laird.

“There's a good group of lads here and things have been going well but there's still a month to go on the loan so it's still quite early.

“My main focus is therefore on helping the team get good results so we can continue to move up the table like we have been in the last few weeks.”

Laird's arrival has coincided with a seven match unbeaten streak for Southend, which has seen them work their way up to fourth in the League Two standings.

And the former Manchester City trainee was thrilled to help keep the good run by scoring in Saturday's 3-1 win against a Rochdale who are also pushing for a place in the play-offs.

“We showed great character and spirit to win against a very good team who I think will be up there all season,” said Laird, 26.

“We did well to come back after conceding the first goal and our strikers are really on fire at the moment.

“Long may that continue but we're doing well all over the pitch at the moment and it's great to see.

“We've got a settled side so we all know what we're doing and confidence is very high too.

“For me personally it was nice to get a goal and the win sets us up nicely for Saturday's game at Bury in the FA Cup where hopefully we can get another good result.”