SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher was happy to hand Macauley Bonne his Shrimpers debut last night.

The former Ipswich Town forward played the final 23 minutes of the 2-0 win against Eastleigh – just a day after joining Blues.

And Maher was pleased to get the striker onto the pitch.

"He's done a lot of fitness work but nothing can replace getting out on the pitch," said Maher.

"It was a heavy pitch but you can see what he’s going to bring in terms of his knowledge of the game and how clever he is as well."

Bonne came on for Bim Pepple against the Spitfires.

And Maher was also happy with how Pepple performed.

"He did a good job and he had a couple of opportunities," said Maher.

"With a little bit more composure he might have scored but he led the line ever so well and Bridgey (Jack Bridge) playing off did well as well.

"They set us off and the rest of the team followed.

"I’m sure he enjoyed the ovation he got when he came off and his efforts deserved that for the team too.

"He worked his socks off and he hadn’t played loads of football before joining us either."