Campbell hopeful Southend can beat drop after battling draw at Wimbledon

Posted Thursday, January 02, 2020 by PA

Sol Cambell believes Southend United’s second-half performance to earn a 1-1 draw against AFC Wimbledon gives him hope his side can beat the drop this season.

A late Charlie Kelman penalty gave the Shrimpers what could prove to be a valuable point, cancelling out Callum Reilly’s first-half goal to leave Campbell’s men 15 points adrift of safety.

And while Campbell is still in pursuit of his maiden league win as Southend manager, he believes he has seen enough from his players to suggest they can haul back the gap and climb out of the relegation zone.

“It [the point] is massive for us – the lads have come a long way since I’ve been here,” he said.

“We’re moving in the right direction and it’s going to be a long haul – that last 45 minutes is where Southend needs to be for 90 minutes.

“We need to be on the front foot and ambitious, but cautious in the right moments.

“We need to connect and find that belief in front of goal – we’ve got to believe we’re going to score in those positions because we have had good situations, but we just need that confidence and belief.

“We’ve got to fight for every point and we had our chances to nick it – the main thing is the character of the lads and they stuck to their task and got a point.

“There could be five, there could be zero [signings in January] – I don’t know what’s going to happen.

“We’re enquiring and see if we can strengthen if possible, but we might end up with no one – we have to make do and get on with the job.”

The result capped off a mixed festive period for Campbell’s side, picking up two points after their Boxing Day draw against MK Dons and defeat at Bolton the previous weekend.

Glyn Hodges’ Wimbledon, meanwhile, now sit three points clear of the relegation zone, making amends for their recent defeat to Oxford in their battle to remain in the division.

“I was concerned about this game – they [Southend] had a nice break and we had two hard games against top-six opposition,” Hodges said.

“Every time we play, we either come from behind or we’re winning by one goal – they [the players] need to have a bit more belief in their ability.

“It’s a sucker punch and it feels like a defeat – you can’t ask for any more, you’re just frustrated and we deserved more out of the game today.

“To come out and play like we did, dominate the first half, it was pleasing – we didn’t do as well in the second half but still had chances.

“The bigger picture is we look up – we don’t look down.”