Southend head to Boreham Wood in the FA Cup first round on Saturday in considerable need of a boost.

Mark Molesley’s Shrimpers are lying at the bottom of the Sky Bet League Two table having lost nine out of 11 games, including each of their last six, and won none.

Midfielder Kyle Taylor was missing for the 3-0 defeat at Bradford on Tuesday having suffered a hamstring problem three days earlier against Port Vale.

Simeon Akinola, John White and Alan McCormack were all closing in on readiness to return to action ahead of Tuesday’s contest but did not feature in the matchday squad, and Nathan Ralph and Lewis Gard are sidelined long-term by knee injuries.

Boreham Wood, managed by Luke Garrard, are currently 12th in the National League with seven points from five games. They advanced into the first round with a 2-0 home victory over seventh-tier Wimborne.