Phil Brown still hoping to keep Daniel Bentley at Southend United

Southend United boss Phil Brown has insisted that he has not given up hope of keeping Daniel Bentley at the club beyond the end of the season.

The 22-year-old, who has been at Southend since 2008, is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Football League.

Bentley will be out of contract at the end of the season and while Brown has admitted that talks have stalled, the former Hull City boss is still hopeful of keeping the stopper at Roots Hall.

"I'm not resigned to losing him. The lines of communication have been open all season but we're no further forward now than we were right at the start of the season," Brown told the Southend Echo.

"We will put in a final offer before the end of the season to see if we can win him over but that's where it is with Daniel at the moment."

Southend currently sit 11th in League One, nine points off the playoffs.