[rcgills]

It's as close as we get to a local derby these days, but no-one actually considers it a derby, there's no rivalry of any kind between the two teams.

As for why we're favourites, not really sure. We're certainly not as bad as our recent results have made us seem, our problem during that time was scoring goals. A 3-2 win over close to full strength Portsmouth, a 2-2 draw at Tranmere and a 1-0 win tonight suggest we're on the way to sorting that out now, with Byfield finding his form, but our defence is still shaky. Hope and Cox will almost certainly still be out at the weekend. However, they were missing tonight and we kept a clean sheet, and Sancho, one of the replacement centre backs, scored the winner. I'd agree with you that Southend probably should be favourites, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the Gills if Byfield plays.