Southend United manager Phil Brown fears for his future at the club as he lets rip in a furious rant after his side’s latest defeat.
He made the comments following a 1-0 defeat at Torquay United, with Connor Lemonheigh-Evans getting a very late winner in stoppage time.
The Shrimpers currently find themselves sitting 19th in the National League table, with the result their third successive setback.

Southend manager fears for his future as he lets rip in furious rant
When asked if he was concerned about staying in place, Brown said: “Absolutely.
“You always fear for your future in every game of football and if you’ve lost three on the bounce when you’re expecting to win three on the bounce it’s a big difference.
“It’s been a bad week but we’ve got a couple of weeks to dust ourselves down now and hopefully bring in a couple of new players.”
And Brown has to chairman Ron Martin about strengthening his Shrimpers squad.
“We’ve spoken about bringing players in and finding out what the issue is,” said Brown.
“I think its character and we’ve got to fight to get out of the position we’re in.”
When asked if the club had turned toxic, Brown said (via Southend Echo): “Toxic is a horrible word and it’s something which has been brought into the game of football.
“Someone has to win and someone has to lose.
“When you’re losing regularly people start to smell bad smells. “There’s nothing toxic about our changing room but there’s certainly something wrong where the club is concerned over a long period of three years now.”
Brown remains eager to turn things around however.
“We’ve got to stop this haemorrhaging,” said Brown.
“We’re bleeding before we’re even starting a game.
“That’s my job and I’ve got to bring in the right individuals who have the right character to turn this around.”
good morning #tufc pic.twitter.com/7pKkcmFVEs
— tom (@tjd01_) September 19, 2021
Phil Brown was also disappointed with how his substitutes performed at Torquay United, taking aim at Matt Dennis and Hamzad Kargbo.
“We made the changes, we brought young lads on and they lose their way to a certain extent in the heat of the battle and that can’t be acceptable,” said Brown.
“Matty Dennis and Hamzad Kargbo came on, falling about.
“They didn’t really understand what this division is all about and what this game is all about.
“It’s men and boys.
“That’s describing us not Torquay.
“Sometimes we’ve got men out there sometimes we’ve got boys but as a collective we’re not doing enough to win games.”
Phil Brown understands fans’ anger following Southend United’s defeat at Torquay.
“The majority of it stems from maybe two or three seasons of anger,” said Brown.
“How can you do anything but repay them with a performance and we’re not doing that at the moment.
“They’re coming all over the country and we’ve got to wear the shirt with pride and put your credentials on the line.
“We’re not really do that at the moment, collectively.”
But Brown is determined for that to improve.
“We’ve got to go back to basics,” said Brown.
“If the quality isn’t there with regards to individuals then we’ve got to be able to get physically past it.”
🟡 Gaffer Reacts To Southend Win
United manager Gary Johnson gave his post-match thoughts, after Connor Lemonheigh-Evans’ late winner earned The Gulls their first home win of the season. #tufc
👉 https://t.co/02aQjQhS3o pic.twitter.com/kXbSRpo2lt
— Torquay United AFC (@TUFC1899) September 18, 2021
Torquay United manager Gary Johnson spoke post-match: “It’s always more fun when it’s late, especially when it’s a goal for you.
“There’s been a few games where we’ve been letting them in at the end, and I’m really pleased that our fans could cheer a win.
“They clapped us off when it was only 0-0 at half-time, because they believed there was still something in the game, they stuck with us in the second half and they deserved the win as much as the lads did.
“I took Aaron (assistant manager Aaron Downes) over to our crowd at the end, because we had needed a ‘0’ against the opposition. We had worked hard all week to turn it around, both on the training ground and off it.
“It’s always nice when it comes off.
“Mark (Halstead) has got concussion. Shaun was available and he is more experienced than Marcin (Brzozowski).
“I thought it was too important not to take the opportunity to bring Shaun in.
“I thought Shaun was just solid, he caught everything he needed to catch, he didn’t make any rash decisions, he knows the words we use and he knows our DNA.
“The team showed a passion, and that showed in not allowing them too many chances, before the ball got into our penalty area.
“We were relentless in our play, Dean Moxey found the right ball at the time and we got the knock-out punch at the end.”
Fans reacted as the Southend manager fears for his future…
@scottycav13: Getting worse week by week. Embarrassed to be linked to this lot whilst Ron stays in charge
@Ryansm05: 3 years of embarrassing drivel & no sign of slowing down. Keep up the good work, Ron. 👌🏻
@BeeDave4writing: I don’t see Southend existing much longer.
@TonySouthMouth: I genuinely believe pressure of getting those wins has overtaken the players & they’re so nervous to make a mistake, that they are in mess they’re in currently. Just get to 12 games or so & then reassess. It’s a tough league & thinking you’ll master it after 5 games is madness.
@jcjdrabble: #BrownOut
@banjosaviola: Are the players doing this on fucking purpose now? Sooooo fucking embarrassing
@tomfoolery95: That’s what you get for signing a load of old boys Brown. ANG and Sim might not put in as much work as some of the others, but at least they could both beat a man and get you off your seat.
@Johnfrench52Sky: Back to back games against struggling teams and zero points taken from these games. Brown has built a squad that will finish in the bottom four in the National League. BROWN OUT
@MaxwellWatson79: Martin has run our club into the ground. That club crest is now a laughing stock and a front for a property development project. Sell up Martin.
@Footballtilley: Absolutely shocking how things are going..
@MobbsLloyd: Well done to all that made the journey, that is true dedication in this current state
@LewisPB_93: It’s so bad how far the club have declined over the past few years 😞
@owenjones539: Feel sorry for all those fans travelling all that way to watch this shit
@DPan0059: Hahaha blue square south soon ay lads
@tomlittlemore: Can’t wait for the excuses
@SouthendBrasil: MARTIN OUT!!!!
@ShrimperZone:
23 October 2019 – Southend United sit 22nd in League One and appoint Sol Campbell.
19 September 2021 – We now sit 19th in the National League, Phil Brown back in charge with 1 win out of 7.
Yet we still stick by the club after all it has put us through! We deserve so much more!
@simonmayes4: He keeps blaming a losing mentality but the majority are his signings and incorrect resigningings. He has brought in players who are either too old too slow or simply not good enough and his stubbornness means Akinola trains with the youth. The guy has totally lost it
@BenBerry93: Have you ever considered maybe that’s all that’s avaliable to him with the budget and players not wanting to play here?! I mean where’s the appeal? Non league and you may not get paid!
@simonmayes4: Absolutely it stems from the top but he’s the wrong manager for us. Won’t back down over Akinola yet brings in far worse and plays them. I think he’s lost it and the players aren’t playing for him
@DavidWa18425508: I personally don’t blame him or his approach. He has proven in the past that he can get Southend to win. We’ve had softly, softly managers recently who’ve done no better. The common denominator is Ron Martin.
“We are shit”
“We will not be taking any questions”
— Paul Harrison (@harrisufc) September 18, 2021
— Lazy (@Lazyjam) September 18, 2021
No shots on target FC pic.twitter.com/MUDNtfKkse
— Ed (@PinophytaEd) September 18, 2021

You must be logged in to post a comment Login