We are showing signs of coming out of this run

"This is the biggest week of the season," he said. "It is a huge week which is all about momentum and confidence. At this stage of the season the teams around the bottom of the division get the odd really good result, but we need a run of results and this is the week to do it in."

Brush has mixed feelings on the fact that we didn't play on Saturday. "In some ways it is good that Burnley didn't play on Saturday because their bad run didn't finish and their confidence isn't up," he said, adding: "But they will be fresher than us and I am sure they will come to Roots Hall determined.

"We have got to play with pace and passion, the most important thing to come out of the Ipswich game was the tenacity and desire to stop the opposition. It is hard to put your finger on it because we have played better than we did at the weekend and lost, but the points now are so vital."

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce said again over the weekend that a team is only as good as its strikers, and that's something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Clarets' boss Steve Cotterill who is hoping for goals from his front two starting tonight.

"I think Southend are a good footballing team and we certainly won't go down there and underestimate them," he said. "We won't take any notice of the league table and we know it is a tough game.

"If we can carry on like we have done for the last few weeks then there's no reason why we can't get a result. We are showing signs of definitely coming out of this run and hopefully that can continue.

"At this moment it is all about our strikers firing. You can go on and win games then. If they had been firing and we hadn't had the disruption with Andy then I'm sure we would have won a few more games in the last couple of months. I'm certain of that.

"They are showing signs of getting there but they can only get there and come through a sufferance period. In the meantime they are working as hard as anyone in the squad to regain their fitness, but matches are the only thing that can do that.

"At the start of the season all we were talking about was scoring goals. We looked like we were going to score every week but we've had to go through a short term problem for a long term game.

"You would hope, fit and raring to go, that Ade and Andy would supply the goals for the team, supplemented by Kyle. With them being where they are it has been tough going, but sooner or later something will drop for them because they are honest lads."