Southend manager Steve Tilson has hailed the impact Lee Barnard has made for his promotion-chasing side since his arrival at Roots Hall.The 23-year-old has scored nine goals in 15 appearances following his move from Tottenham at the end of January.

And Tilson is now backing Barnard to continue his purple patch in front of goal as the Shrimpers ready themselves for the final game of the season against Port Vale and the play-offs.

"He's done fantastic for us," Tilson said. "He's come in and done what he's done at Tottenham in the reserves.

"I think he's scored nine in 11 starts now and that's a fantastic return from Lee. He's had a few injuries in his career and hopefully he can stay injury free during his time with us.

"He'll score a number of goals with us because he knows where the goal is and takes up good positions to score goals and that's what he's done since he's come in."

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