ADAM Peek hopes his Southend Manor players will be revitalised after given them a week off ahead of their Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy clash at Ilford.

Manor will be in action for the first time in 10 days tomorrow.

And Peek has allowed his squad to spend some time away from the training pitch since going out of the FA Cup with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Long Melford in an extra preliminary round replay.

The Manor boss said: “We gave the players a week off and they only returned to training last night.

“We have played a lot of games in a short space of time, so the boys have been working hard and been involved in some difficult games.

“The boys are still upset about going out of the FA Cup but hopefully they will come back refreshed and raring to go.”

Manor will make the trip to Cricklefield Stadium to face Essex Senior League rivals Ilford this weekend.

Ilford are yet to taste an Essex Senior League victory this term, while Manor have been triumphant once from their first two domestic outings.

And Peek wants to heap more misery on Ilford by tasting victory and going on a cup run.

“We want to have a decent cup run in one of the competitions this season,” added Peek.

“Ilford may try something different because it is not a league game and so there is less risk if it goes wrong.

“We need to try and build on what we have started this season.

“After tomorrow’s game, we have two difficult games in quick succession, so a win would give us a lot of confidence ahead of those games.”