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- Sep 27, 2005
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Efe Sodje says Southend need to imagine they are bottom of the Championship to maintain their push for survival.
United climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since September with a midweek victory over Burnley.
Next up is a crucial clash against Leeds on Saturday and centre-back Sodje says nobody associated with Southend can afford to get carried away.
"We need to keep that mentality so we keep fighting for everything until the very last minute," he told BBC Sport.
"That spirit has to be there because we know as many as seven clubs are still in it, so we have to keep telling ourselves we are not safe yet.
"We're not looking at the league table, we're not looking at the other scores, the other fixtures or anything - we are just looking at ourselves and the fact we want to win every game."
The visit of Leeds to Essex is a match which could have major repurcussions at the foot of the Championship.
THE VERDICT: SOUTHEND v LEEDS
It's going to be a massive game - they don't get any bigger, although every game from now until the end of the season will be like that
Steve Tilson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a massive game - but it won't be the end of it
Dennis Wise, Leeds
Both managers have described it as a "massive game", with Southend supremo Steve Tilson adding that it is the first of eight cup finals for his club.
A home win would move the Shrimpers six points clear of bottom-placed Leeds and, despite the Sodje crash course in reverse psychology, a third successive clean sheet and victory would have Roots Hall rocking.
It has, after all, been a tough initiation to the second tier of English football.
Following a bright start to the season Southend went on a 17-game run in the league without a win and slipped into the relegation zone on 30 September.
They hit the bottom rung of the Championship on 31 October, stayed there for more than 10 weeks and were in the dreaded 'drop zone' for 164 days.
"It was a long time," said Sodje, "but people do not appreciate how difficult it is the higher you go up the league.
"It's more technical and you have to play very sensible football.
"When the season started there was only me, Spencer Prior and Lee Bradbury who had played at this level before.
"You need experience, it took time for the team to get used to the Championship and things flew by us, but now everyone knows exactly what to do.
We're still working hard but Steve Tilson's ensuring we get enough rest between games and the time to recover
Sodje on the run-in
"The only teams who have really dealt us are Cardiff and Sunderland, but nobody else has really opened us up and nobody could say we were the whipping boys of the league.
"And even though we were bottom for so long we never lost belief that we could get out of it."
Crowd favourite Sodje returns the compliment by acclaiming the contribution of the supporters as well as the character and the relaxed attitude of boss Tilson.
"He's always been smiling," the 34-year-old reveals of his manager. "He never felt any pressure and he and Brushy (assistant boss Paul Brush) are always taking the mick out of the players.
"In his team talk he always tells us there's no pressure and we just need to play. Sometimes the chairman comes into the changing room as well, but he doesn't give us any pressure either.
"And the fans have been wonderful throughout everything.
"At every home game, Saturday or Tuesday, we have had 8-9,000 screaming their head off and the more they have kept going, the more we have kept going."
Those supporters started 2007 in good voice as United beat West Bromwich Albion at home, but Sodje identifies the away win at Cardiff almost a fortnight later as a key moment of the season.
It was their first victory on the road in the Championship and since then two more have followed at Birmingham and Ipswich to help them to a haul of 20 points from a possible 36 this year.
And to ensure the season ends on a high they will need in the region of a dozen more points from their eight "cup finals", starting with Leeds on Saturday.
Efe Sodje says Southend need to imagine they are bottom of the Championship to maintain their push for survival.
United climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since September with a midweek victory over Burnley.
Next up is a crucial clash against Leeds on Saturday and centre-back Sodje says nobody associated with Southend can afford to get carried away.
"We need to keep that mentality so we keep fighting for everything until the very last minute," he told BBC Sport.
"That spirit has to be there because we know as many as seven clubs are still in it, so we have to keep telling ourselves we are not safe yet.
"We're not looking at the league table, we're not looking at the other scores, the other fixtures or anything - we are just looking at ourselves and the fact we want to win every game."
The visit of Leeds to Essex is a match which could have major repurcussions at the foot of the Championship.
THE VERDICT: SOUTHEND v LEEDS
It's going to be a massive game - they don't get any bigger, although every game from now until the end of the season will be like that
Steve Tilson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a massive game - but it won't be the end of it
Dennis Wise, Leeds
Both managers have described it as a "massive game", with Southend supremo Steve Tilson adding that it is the first of eight cup finals for his club.
A home win would move the Shrimpers six points clear of bottom-placed Leeds and, despite the Sodje crash course in reverse psychology, a third successive clean sheet and victory would have Roots Hall rocking.
It has, after all, been a tough initiation to the second tier of English football.
Following a bright start to the season Southend went on a 17-game run in the league without a win and slipped into the relegation zone on 30 September.
They hit the bottom rung of the Championship on 31 October, stayed there for more than 10 weeks and were in the dreaded 'drop zone' for 164 days.
"It was a long time," said Sodje, "but people do not appreciate how difficult it is the higher you go up the league.
"It's more technical and you have to play very sensible football.
"When the season started there was only me, Spencer Prior and Lee Bradbury who had played at this level before.
"You need experience, it took time for the team to get used to the Championship and things flew by us, but now everyone knows exactly what to do.
We're still working hard but Steve Tilson's ensuring we get enough rest between games and the time to recover
Sodje on the run-in
"The only teams who have really dealt us are Cardiff and Sunderland, but nobody else has really opened us up and nobody could say we were the whipping boys of the league.
"And even though we were bottom for so long we never lost belief that we could get out of it."
Crowd favourite Sodje returns the compliment by acclaiming the contribution of the supporters as well as the character and the relaxed attitude of boss Tilson.
"He's always been smiling," the 34-year-old reveals of his manager. "He never felt any pressure and he and Brushy (assistant boss Paul Brush) are always taking the mick out of the players.
"In his team talk he always tells us there's no pressure and we just need to play. Sometimes the chairman comes into the changing room as well, but he doesn't give us any pressure either.
"And the fans have been wonderful throughout everything.
"At every home game, Saturday or Tuesday, we have had 8-9,000 screaming their head off and the more they have kept going, the more we have kept going."
Those supporters started 2007 in good voice as United beat West Bromwich Albion at home, but Sodje identifies the away win at Cardiff almost a fortnight later as a key moment of the season.
It was their first victory on the road in the Championship and since then two more have followed at Birmingham and Ipswich to help them to a haul of 20 points from a possible 36 this year.
And to ensure the season ends on a high they will need in the region of a dozen more points from their eight "cup finals", starting with Leeds on Saturday.
