LEADING THE WAY
Southend left-back Ben Coker on being handed the captaincy
IN NOVEMBER 2004, leftback Chris Powell was voted Southend’s all-time cult hero by the club’s fans in a BBC poll. He claimed 58 per cent of the vote ahead of Brett Angell and Roy McDonough.
More than a decade on, Powell is adding to his legacy at Roots Hall after taking over as manager and improving the club’s fortunes in League One this season.
Former boss Phil Brown was sacked in mid-January after losing seven league matches in eight, but Powell went on to win four of the next five matches, remaining undefeated until a 3-0 reverse to Walsall just over a week ago.
And, while the definition of a ‘cult hero’ is sometimes hard to define, Powell is helping to develop another left-back leader for the club.
Ben Coker is newly appointed as skipper by the man who used to hold the No.3 shirt.
Brilliant
“The new gaffer’s come in and he’s really turned it around,” said Coker.
“I think we’ve got a lot more structure to what we’re doing and how he wants us to play. He’s been a breath of fresh air and has been brilliant for us.
“He’s very enthusiastic, very detailed in what he does, and how he wants us to play, what system he wants – and he’s very hands on coachingwise.
“He’s got good staff with him in Kev (Kevin Keen, assistant manager) and Damo (Damian Matthew, assistant manager) and has been really positive since he’s come in.
“I’ve never been captain anywhere before, so I’m honoured he gave me it. I just try to help all the boys and do as well as I can, really.”
Coker’s appointment as captain is recognition for his good form this season after returning from the broken leg he sustained in the club’s final pre-season match of the summer against Colchester’s Under-21s. But the 28-year-old hasn’t always competed at this level.
After breaking through at Colchester in 2010, Coker soon found himself surplus to requirements and spent the 2012-13 season back at NonLeague Histon.
For some footballers, things only go south from there, but the Hatfield-born defender was determined to bounce back.
“I just had to keep going and be as strong as I could be because, otherwise, you get lost in Non-League and it’s hard to get out of there again,” he said. “I just had to work as hard as I could and just get back to where I knew I should be playing.
“Then I trialled at Southend and now I’ve found a good home here – it’s been crazy!”
At the time of Brown’s departure, the Shrimpers were 20th in League One, a point above the drop zone.
Determined
the end of the season and is determined to progress his career.
“I want to try to play as high as I possibly can,” he added.
“If it’s with Southend or somewhere else, that’s definitely one of my main goals.
“It’s important for me. I don’t want to look back over my career and think, ‘I could’ve done this, I could’ve done that’.
“I want to do all I can now and hopefully get there.”
Two months on and with Southend comfortably midtable, Coker is looking upwards towards the play-offs.
A concern to the Roots Hall faithful, though, is that the full-back is out of contract at