Southend make it two wins from two as Dyer's rebuild hits the ground running

Kieron Dyer's first managerial job is off to about as good a start as he could have hoped for. Southend United made it back-to-back wins to open the National League season with a narrow 1-0 victory over Andy Butler's Scunthorpe United at Roots Hall, summer signing Josh Popoola scoring the only goal in what Dyer described as a dominant first-half display from his new-look Shrimpers.

A perfect start

It follows an opening day win at Altrincham, where Southend came from behind after Tom Crawford's early tap-in, Leon Chambers-Parillon levelling before the break and captain Oli Coker putting the visitors ahead in the second half, helped by a costly error from Robins debutant goalkeeper Owen Evans, before Harry Cardwell sealed a 3-1 win late on.

Dyer wants more

Dyer's only frustration after the Scunthorpe win was that his side didn't add to their tally. "How was it only one?" he asked afterwards. "I thought it was a brilliant first half performance." It's a promising response from a squad that's had to absorb a genuine culture shift this summer, arriving after popular former boss Kevin Maher was controversially sacked within 48 hours of leading Southend to FA Trophy glory at Wembley, a decision that stunned much of the fanbase but one the club's hierarchy insisted was necessary to kickstart the next chapter.

Sweet revenge and a fresh start

Dyer, in his first senior managerial role after over a decade coaching at Ipswich and Chesterfield, inherits a talented squad that finished sixth last season before falling in the play-off eliminator to Scunthorpe, the very side he's now beaten in his second game in charge. There's a nice symmetry to that revenge angle, and if Southend can maintain anything like this level of form, the Essex side's five-year exile from the Football League could finally be nearing its end. Two games is a small sample size, but for a fanbase still processing the messy end to Maher's reign, a perfect start under a rookie manager with no prior senior experience will have gone a long way to winning early buy-in. The test now comes as fixtures get tougher and the new-manager bounce inevitably fades, but few National League clubs will have enjoyed a better opening fortnight than Southend.