A TROUBLED and turbulent week for Southend United ended with a timely triumph against Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

The Shrimpers went into the clash with the senior members of the squad still waiting to pick up their February pay packets.

But Blues’ players momentarily forgot their problems and produced a professional performance to pick up a well-deserved 3-1 victory.

Now, on the pitch, there were many positives all over the pitch for Sol Campbell’s side.

Joe Shaughnessy – who has endured an injury hit first season with the Shrimpers – produced his best performance in a Southend shirt so far, winning the vast majority of his battles at the heart of the back four.

Tom Clifford also continued his eye-catching run of form since coming into the team with another incredibly composed display at left-back while Lewis Gard also played well in midfield.

Jason Demetriou made a welcome return to action while the day will best be remembered for the first senior goal of Terrell Egbri’s career and the beaming smile across his face at the final whistle.

Further forward, Charlie Kelman got back among the goals, meaning he has now netted in all four of the League games the Shrimpers have won this season.

In fact, Blues’ top scorer has now scored in six matches this term and none of them have ended in defeat for the Essex outfit.

The Shrimpers will therefore be eager to see the teenager hit the back of the net on a more regular basis between now and the end of the season.

But the harsh reality remains that Saturday’s success and the individual displays provided just a momentarily release from what remains an extremely worrying situation for Southend.

As many as 15 senior players, three of whom started at the weekend, went into the weekend’s encounter without having been paid.

Those salaries were due to be received at the end of February but many are still waiting to be given their pay packets and so too are several staff members working tirelessly behind the scenes at Roots Hall.

Chairman Ron Martin maintains a positive outlook and has continued to stress the future is bright for the Shrimpers.

But the financial difficulties show no sign of being sorted any time soon and just where will the ongoing problems lead to?

The Football League hit Blues with a misconduct charge when wages were late in December and will definitely be keeping a close eye on the latest developments.

Macclesfield Town suffered a six point deduction for the late payment of wages, albeit alongside having to postpone a fixture, earlier this season.

And something similar could be coming the way of the Shrimpers.

With Blues sitting 16 points from safety, a points deduction at this stage would make little difference.

But if the punishment is carried into next season then Southend would start life back in League Two already playing catch up.

Next season is already a concern with Blues with a number of players expected to leave in the summer.

With no fixtures and surely a reduction in season card sales, the Shrimpers are again likely to be facing a cash shortage before the next campaign kicks off.

And, with matters on and off the pitch both far from ideal, they will also find it incredibly hard to attract new signings.

Blues remain under a transfer embargo and have still been unable to register former Macclesfield Town duo Theo Vassell and Emmanuel Osadebe despite them both putting pen to paper last month.

The situation remains rather perilous and will manager Sol Campbell continue to stick around?

Campbell helped Blues end a run of six successive defeats at the weekend and his senior players -who have often been criticised this term – deserve immense praise for their professionalism and performances.

The victory came against an unimpressive Bristol Rovers who have fallen down the standings since ex Shrimper Graham Coughlan opted to quit the club as manager just before Christmas.

The Pirates could have no complaints about the result and they have now triumphed just once in their last 18 outings.

But for Blues the win represented a welcome relief and also provided some rare optimism with eight of the starting line-up aged 21 or under.

Their latest efforts bagged a win which will be too late to save the Shrimpers’ season but it might save the sanity of the supporters for a little while yet.

However, they more than anyone else, will be fully aware of the long-term frailties and the stability needed to ensure Blues can get back on track both on and off the pitch.