Powell promises to field strong team in FA Cup

Southend United boss Chris Powell will be fielding a full-strength team for the FA Cup tie against Crawley.

Tom Hopper (knee), Ben Coker (knee) and Harry Lennon (broken leg) are long-term absentees and will miss out.

However, Powell views the FA Cup as an important competition for his club and will pick his best available line-up.

“Don’t worry about us blooding players to give them game time – no. We’ll be strong we have to be,” Powell said.

Crawley will revert to their preferred side after blooding some younger talent in the Sussex Senior Cup on Tuesday night.

Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Reece Grego-Cox impressed in the defeat by Haywards Heath Town, however, and could be retained.

Boss Gabriele Cioffi admits consistency is a recurring issue for his Sky Bet League Two outfit.

“It has been a problem for a while, perhaps going back before I came to the club and obviously it is very frustrating,” he said.