Shaun Goater is hoping to bounce back from a rest weekend to help put the Shrimpers back on a winning track.

The veteran Bermudian striker was an unused sub as Southend were beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest last Saturday, with boss Steve Tilson preferring to go with Wayne Gray instead.

Goater is hoping to win his place back this weekend and return to scoring and winning ways to keep the side in the League One play-off hunt. They currently lie in third place, four points off the lead.

"The gaffer pulled me aside last week while we were out on the pitch at the City Ground, having our usual pre-match walkabout," said Goater, who has partnered rising star Freddy Eastwood in attack for the majority of the season so far.

"He said he was going to give me a rest and let Wayne have a game instead. We have a good understanding and working relationship and, to be honest, I agreed with his decision.

"When I joined the club we had a long chat and one of the things we discussed was whether or not I would play every single game.

"We spoke about it at length and we agreed that we would look it at on a game-by-game basis."

Goater missed the start of the season with a calf injury but has since played every week, apart from minor cup matches.

Although he hit a hot scoring streak earlier in a year ? including a brace against local rivals Colchester United to truly elevate him to hero status among the Shrimper faithful ? he has been off the boil for a few games now.

The fans, who all but worshiped the Goat on their Internet message forums early this season, have been more critical in recent weeks of the big striker's performances, saying he looked "jaded" and "tired".

Goater admitted that he hadn't been at his best, putting his hands up to his "worst performance of the season" in the defeat to Swansea earlier this month in the battle between the then top two in the table.

But having had the rest last weekend, Goater is hopeful of being handed his starting place back against 11th place Port Vale today at Vale Park and returning to his early-season form.

"I think the rest will do me good," continued Goater, cajoled out of possible retirement by Tilson after a miserable time at Reading.

"I am not as young as I used to be but it is something that I talk about with the gaffer and hopefully I can come back in with the freshness I had earlier on.

"My game hasn't been up to my usual standards in the last couple of matches and hopefully the break will allow me to go back in and do what I had been doing earlier on in the campaign."

Meanwhile in the shortened form of the game, John Barry Nusum and David Bascome are both in action stateside in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Nusum's Philadelphia KiXX (1-1) are on the road tonight against the expansion St. Louis Stompers while Bascome, who earned his 1,000th MISL point against that team last weekend, travels with his Baltimore Blast team-mates to Chicago to take on the Storm tomorrow evening.