Riley Sykes is a first-year midfielder.

Danny Heath: "Riley can play effectively as a box-to-box centre midfield and works hard to get up and down the pitch to impact the game and help the team in both attacking and defending situations. From an attacking point of view Riley shows good quality with his range of passing to play forwards and to also switch play into space. Out of possession Riley works hard to press to regain the ball in the middle third but to also track runners and recover into a good defensive position to ensure that the team is compact."

Riley: "I have played football since I was around six years old and have loved it ever since my first time kicking a ball over the park. Since then, I’ve played for several Sunday league teams throughout the age groups at teams such as GPR, winning tournaments, cups and leagues. At around 13 I made the transition to EJA football where I played for teams such as Aveley and Bowers & Pitsea winning both EJA cups and the league in a domestic double-winning season, during this time also making a handful of appearances for both Havering District and the Essex County. This earned me a trial at Southend, providing an opportunity to show what I’m capable of at a higher level, and so far I am enjoying my time here with the high standards we set for ourselves and can’t wait to build on it further and keep improving!"