I’VE been delighted by the positive response of the players since the defeat at Chesterfield.

We trained hard on Monday and the following day we assessed the video of the match and tried to find out the reasons why we lost the game.

Jose Mourinho lined up his Chelsea team at Old Trafford. They had the mentality of ‘we’re not conceding a goal and we’re not going losing the game’, which is something I think we we might be able to learn from.

On Saturday we certainly didn’t have that mentality and even in the 95th minute of the match we were still trying to win it, which maybe cost us in the end.

Luke Prosser has held his hands up for Chesterfield’s late winner but it’s a scar he’ll learn from and I think all of us actually will.

We will be aiming to show that at Wycombe on Saturday and our chief scout Bob Shaw has given us a glowing report on them.

Their manager, Gareth Ainsworth, made five changes for the game at Oxford and they seemed to work because they put their best foot forward and very nearly won the game.

They’re certainly no mugs and, knowing Gareth, I’m sure they will work incredibly hard against us.

We will need to match that and we’ve already shown this season that we’re playing with a lot of pride but we do need to be at full strength.

We have two lads on crutches, Julian Bennett and Marc Laird, and it hurts when you see that.

They’re both long-term injuries but Mark Phillips should be back soon.

He has been out for a week longer than expected but if he trains today and tomorrow then he will be putting himself forward and putting pressure on the young pups at centre-back.

That gives me a problem but that’s what I want.

I need competition for places and the sooner we have that the better.

The embargo we’re under puts the squeeze on us a little bit but we might have to improve our squad before the transfer window closes on Monday.

TRANSFER WINDOW SHOULD BE SCRAPPED

TALKING of the transfer window, I have to say that I’ve never really been a fan of it.

I think the old way of doing things and being able to make signings throughout the whole season until the second or third week in March was much better.

There are rules for certain divisions that don’t exist in others and there’s just too many rules and regulations for my liking.

FORGETTING KIT AND THE TEAM-SHEET

AFTER the Millwall kit man forgot to take the kit to their game at Sheffield Wednesday it brought back a few memories for me.

During my time with Hull we had to wear Newcastle’s shorts and socks because there was a clash and we ended up beating them 2-1.

It wasn’t the end of the world and I think the worst thing I’ve ever forgotten has to be the team-sheet.

I’m not too sure who we were playing but I had to borrow a team-sheet which was submitted late and I ended up getting fined, so that would probably be my biggest disaster.

That gives me a problem but that’s what I want. I need competition for places and the sooner we have that the better.

The embargo we’re under puts the squeeze on us a little bit but we might have to improve our squad before the transfer window closes on Monday.

SOUTHEND PIER

IT was great to take the whole squad and the coaching staff to the end of Southend Pier yesterday.

I’ve looked at the pier with great affection since coming to the club, much like I did with the Humber Bridge when I was at Hull.

It’s an iconic part of the town and it’s fantastic for Southend to have the longest pleasure pier in the world.

I couldn’t believe it when I found some of the players had lived in Essex for 20 years and never been on the pier.

But it was certainly a step forward in terms of my love affair with Southend.