GUS Scott-Morriss wants to become more of a creative force for Southend United this season.
The right wing-back made two of the Shrimpers’ goals in Saturday’s 4-0 win against Oldham Athletic having gone the whole of the previous campaign without a single assist.
And it is an area of his game Scott-Morriss is keen to improve.
“I don’t really set targets but the one I do want to do is to bring more assists into my game,” said Scott-Morriss.
“I know they were fluky ones at the weekend but that’s something we have looked at with the management.
“Bridgey (Jack Bridge) and me are different kind of wing-backs and I’m a bit more defensive than him but that’s an asset I want to add to my game.
“I want to create more for the team.”
Scott-Morriss scored five goals for the Shrimpers during an impressive first season at Roots Hall.
But he remains eager to improve and help those around him to also hit the back of the net.
“I’ve never really struggled to get assists before and I’ve relied on that throughout my whole career,” said Scott-Morriss.
“It was a bit of a weird one last year and maybe you overthink it when you know you haven’t done it.
“You can put deliveries in and people don’t score from it but it was nice on Saturday.
“It was a scrawny one to get off the mark but hopefully I can deliver a few more good balls into the box because it’s definitely something I need to work on.”
Scott-Morriss’ assists helped Blues bag an impressive opening day victory against the Latics.
And the 26-year-old remains delighted to have started the season in such fine style.
“It’s been a great buzz,” said Scott-Morriss.
“There has been a lot of doom and gloom around pre-season and it’s been an uncertain time.
“It was a bit of a relief and enjoyable to come out and play football at Roots Hall on Saturday.”
But Scott-Morriss insists Blues will be keeping their feet on the ground ahead of Saturday’s clash at Dagenham & Redbridge.
“We won’t get carried away but we’re happy we won on the opening day,” said Scott-Morriss.
“A lot of pressure gets put on that game because you’re working towards it for six weeks.
“It’s unlike any other game all season so it was great to win and lovely the way we did it in front of our own fans.
“It was brilliant.”
However, Scott-Morriss was not surprised by the level of the performance.
“We know what we’ve got here,” said the wing-back.
“We are lacking depth but we all know each other inside out and that’s the one thing we probably do have over other teams.
“We been through times together before so it’s not a shock to us and it was lovely to just put on a performance in front of our fans.”
Blues will again be roared on by their supporters this weekend with the away allocation of 1,200 already sold out.
And Scott-Morriss believes there is a real bond among players and fans.
“There’s the real connection we’ve got at this club at the moment and the players and the fans have a real buzz together,” said Scott-Morriss.
“The fans appreciate what the players do on the pitch and we appreciate them getting the place rocking.
“I’m sure Saturday will feel like a home game again.
Dagenham drew 1-1 at Altrincham in their opening game of the season and Scott-Morriss stressed the Shrimpers had prepared correctly for the contest.
“We take it one game at a time and we’ve always done that well here,” said the England C international.
“Even if we had lost the opening game we would have the same approach for Saturday.
“It’s early doors and we won’t be getting carried away.”
But Scott-Morriss again hopes to have plenty of reasons to smile, something supporters have become accustomed to seeing since he signed last summer.
“Sometimes a smile can hide a few angry moments on the pitch and sometimes it’s how I deal with disappointment too,” said Scott-Morriss.
“There’s times I do it on the pitch to forget stuff and move on but more often than not if you’re playing with a smile then you’re doing something right.
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