Brown says both Southend and Cobblers will be aiming to stop the rot

It’s a real battle of the strugglers at Sixfields, with Southend going into the clash having lost six of their past seven games, while the Cobblers take to the pitch having won just one of their past 11 - losing eight of the other 10.

It has been a difficult week for Brown at Roots Hall.

He is suffering with injuries to key players such as Josh Wright, Anton Ferdinand and Michael Timlin, and has also had to deal with the small matter of the club sacking striker Nile Ranger following a string of off-field misdemeanours.

Brown admitted following the 2-0 New Year’s Day loss at AFC Wimbledon that he is under pressure due to the Shrimpers’ slump in form, but he has come out fighting ahead of the visit to Sixfields, and says he believes all of his players are giving everything for him.

“The difficult part of any footballer’s life is when you’re not winning,” said the former Hull City boss.

“But I see endeavour and I see players that are wearing the shirt with pride, wanting to go out there and prove themselves are good footballers and we’re still a good side. You have to work through it.

“It is about preparation for Northampton.

“They’re going through a tough spell themselves, they’re down at the bottom and we have to utilise that.

“It’s a good time to catch a team at the bottom that are in bad form, but they will be looking at us and thinking the same.

“If I go through the last six or seven games, and I know we’ve only won one of them, there are situations and moments in those games that we have to put our best foot forward in front of goal and we could’ve come out with a point or three.

“That’s what we need to start believing. It is a tight situation there’s no doubt about it.

“It’s my job that we stay focused and remain on the job in hand which is to beat Northampton on Saturday.”