JAMES Morton wants to start playing a major role for Southend United this season.

The 25-year-old midfielder scored once in 17 games after signing for the Shrimpers from Weston-super-Mare back in January.

But he is now looking to step things up.

“Every year is always big but this one does feel a little bit different to what I’ve had previously,” said Morton.

“I’m at an age now where I want to take a lot of responsibly and be a big part of the team.

“It’s helpful I’ve had half a season already to gauge things, settle in and understand how the manager wants to play.

“But with a pre-season under my belt I feel even more prepared and I’ve tried to show the kind of player that I am.

“Hopefully that will be enough to play a lot because I want to play a key role and be part of a team wanting to have a successful season.”

Morton continued his preparations for the Shrimpers’ forthcoming National League season by playing the full 90 minutes of Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw at Ballyfermot United.

And Morton felt the trip to Dublin was hugely beneficial for Kevin Maher’s team.

“Everyone was excited to go out to Ireland as a team and it brings everyone together,” said Morton.

“It makes the group closer and it’s important to have relationships on and off the pitch.

“With the hard work we’ve done in training and in the match it’s been really good.

“We’ve become a real team and really united.

“That’s something we’ve achieved and it’s an edge I think we did already have but it’s even more so now.”

And Morton also thought the match was important for those still working their way back up to full fitness.

“It was a difficult game in a different way but I think some of us needed minutes,” said Morton.

“The opposition was tricky and with them being lower level maybe they dropped in a bit so it was hard to break them down.

“We still had some really good moments but we just couldn’t put it in the back of the net.

“On another day we would’ve scored early on but it just wasn’t our night.

“We want to try and win every game, even in pre-season, but it was good to get the minutes.”

Blues head to National League South side Chelmsford City for their final pre-season fixture of the summer tomorrow.

And Morton is sure it will be another stern test.

“It will be good to play opposition higher again,” said the midfielder.

“With it being a week before the season starts hopefully we’ll get a good, connected performance with the result on top.”

The friendly is also the Shrimpers’ last before kicking off the season the following Saturday.

And Morton has set his sights high.

“A successful season will be for us to be up as high as possible,” said Morton.

“I think we are very focused as a group and we’ll take it game by game but we’ll have targets along the way.

"We’ve already spoken about them and we want to be high up the table.

"The belief is there, the confidence is there - we just need to get started now.”