SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher praised the energy of Oli Coker following the midfielder’s introduction against Wealdstone on Tuesday night.

Coker impressed in the centre of the park after taking the place of Wes Fonguck at half-time.

And Maher was pleased to see Coker back in action after recovering from a thigh problem.

“He had good energy when he came on and had good quality on the ball too,” said Maher.

“We had to bide our time with him and get a bank of training into him because he’s broken down a couple of times and we don’t want that to happen.”

Coker had been an unused substitute for the Shrimpers in the last two games having previously missed seven of the previous eight matches with a thigh problem.

Tuesday's match ended in a 1-1 draw at Roots Hall with Henry Sandat scoring a late equaliser.