Steve Tilson will be looking to give youth its chance at Southampton on Saturday, even though he admits they could not have asked for a tougher encounter on the final day of the season.

The Blues chief admits that he has no choice but to name some of the younger players on the bench due to injuries, but having been impressed by their performances in the midweek reserve game, he believes it will be a good experience for them.

"It would be nice to win on Saturday, but Southampton is one of the toughest places to go to this season," Steve told Blues Player.

"If Southampton didn't have 10 points deducted they would be right in amongst it.

"There is nothing on the game, but having got a point at Oldham and a win against Stockport, it would be nice to end the season well.

"There were loads of factors as to why we got relegated, but at the end of the day, we weren't good enough for whatever reason.

"We now have to make sure that we put in a decent performance against Southampton.

"We will be giving the youth players a chance. They did well in the reserve game the other night and will be on the bench.

"We have to use what we've got, but it is a bit of experience for them.

"In an ideal world, we would want them to earn the right to be in and amongst the first team, but with the situation as it is, it is a necessity to bring them in.

"Harry Crawford did well against Stockport last weekend and worked hard.

"I'm not sure how he got credited with the goal, but fair play to him, as he was in and around the action in the box and it was a good start.

"I also thought Matty Paterson had his best performance for the club when he came on for the last 15 minutes and was lively.

"He came from Southampton and will be looking to play some part on Saturday."

Tilson is also well aware of the threat posed in the Southampton attack by the likes of Rickie Lambert and former Southend striker Lee Barnard and knows they will be a handful.

He said: "Rickie Lambert and Barney must be one of the best strike forces in this league.

"Rickie is a handful and we know what Barney is all about; he is a fantastic finisher.

"It will be nice to see him again. I saw him a couple of weeks ago at the PFA event and had a chat with him then.

"It was a huge blow to lose Barney, not just for the goals, but it drained the confidence of the other players and myself to lose your top goalscorer.

"He did ever so well for this football club and I'm sure he is going to do well at Southampton."