We will still go up vows Brown

PHIL BROWN wants his Southend players to use the hurt of missing out on automatic promotion to inspire a successful play-off campaign.

The Shrimpers blew the chance to seal a top-three spot after sinking to defeat, which allowed Bury to claim promotion glory.

Goals from Jack Redshaw, Aaron Wildig and Jamie Devitt meant Jack Payne’s strike counted for nothing and sees Brown’s side go into a play-off semifinal with Stevenage.

The former Hull boss (inset) knows there is no time for his side to feel sorry for themselves as their seven-game winning streak ended at the crucial moment.

Brown said: “The lads are all down, but we have to put it to the back of our minds and get ready for the play-offs. It is disappointing because the expectation levels were so high and it was in our hands. To miss out is a bitter disappointment.

“But we have finished the season in great form and we have to take that spirit into the play-offs.

“We obviously wanted to seal it and our fans travelled in great numbers and backed us superbly, but it wasn’t to be.”

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley was proud of his side’s performance after they maintained their hoodoo over Southend with a ninth win in 10 games over the Shrimpers.

He said: “We have a great record over Southend and we always seem to play well against them.

“We started superbly and scored a great early goal and, even though they equalised soon after, we always looked a threat.”