SOUTHEND United defender Nathan Ralph suffered two knock-out blows during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.

The left-back took a painful looking whack to the head early on after being hit by a powerful Chris Maguire free-kick.

But, after recovering enough to continue, Ralph saw the Shrimpers breached by Luke O’Nien’s header as their winless streak stretched to an eight game.

“I feel OK now, I’ve got a bit of headache but I’m fine,” said Ralph.

“It lasted a couple of minutes but I did the tests with the physio and everything was fine so I could carry on.

“I didn’t really think about it too much after that but the result hurt too.

“It was a big test for us coming here but I thought we did well on the whole and it was obviously frustrating to lose.”

The Shrimpers - who have still won just once this season - enjoyed sustained spells of possession against the Black Cats.

And Ralph was encouraged by the display.

“We played some good stuff and maybe we were a bit unlucky not to score,” said the 26-year-old.

“We had a penalty shout but the main thing we’ve been working on is making sure we compete in every game and we did that here.”

The clash was the second Sol Campbell has had in charge of Blues.

And Ralph believes the former England international is already making an impact at Roots Hall, despite being beaten in his first two matches.

“The manager has made sure every session is geared around how we’re going to play on a Saturday and we’re improving,” said Ralph.

“All the work is match specific and we’ve been given all the tools we need.

“The manager has said he was impressed with us here but we have to step it up again now, score some goals and win some games too.”

The Shrimpers remain second from bottom in the League One standings but Ralph remains confident things will soon start to turn.

“It’s only a matter of time,” said the summer signing.

“ This performance needs to be the benchmark for us now and we have to keep progressing.”

And Ralph wants that to start with tomorrow’s trip to Portsmouth.

“It’s another big game but I’m looking forward to it and I’m sure there will be a good atmosphere too,” said Ralph.

“I’ll be fine to play as well after a few paracetamol.”