SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown has labelled his side’s 1-0 defeat Newport County last night as ‘unforgivable’.

Blues wasted a succession of clear cut chances, with Myles Weston also failing to convert a penalty before Mark Byrne bagged the only goal of the game for the hosts.

And Brown insisted there was no way the Shrimpers should have returned back home empty handed.

“With the amount of possession we had and the number of chances we created it’s just unforgivable that we haven’t taken anything from the game,” said the 55-year-old whose side have now scored just once in their last four matches.

“Our finishing has been poor all season and every game we’re creating four or five chances which are absolute sitters.

“The club captain (John White) is guilty of missing one and Myles has missed a penalty too but we can’t keep bemoaning our luck.

“We have to do something about it and if that means bringing someone else in then so be it.”

The Shrimpers have now also not won in four matches.

And that has also hurt the Blues boss.

“We’ve taken one point out of 12 and that record doesn’t lie,” said Brown.

“There is something fundamentally wrong with the nature of the group and for me it’s what’s happening in the final third.”

However, Brown was not too critical on Weston who saw his second half spot-kick saved by Newport goalkeeper Joe Day.

“Myles had the confidence to take it and he couldn’t have hit it much better but the goalkeeper made a great save,” said Brown.

“Graham Coughlan, sitting next to me, wanted Barry Corr to take it and we also had two penalty takers on the bench in Lee Barnard and Jack Payne.

“Myles wanted to take it and unfortunately the keeper saved it.

“But there were still chances we should’ve taken after that too.”