Southend United have announced the appointment of Kevin Bond as manager until the end of the season as the club look to avoid relegation from League One.

Bond takes over from Chris Powell, who was sacked last week, with the club only outside the League One relegation on goal difference with just six games of the season remaining.

In a statement posted on the Southend United website on Tuesday, the club said: "The Club has today appointed Kevin Bond as Manager for the remaining six games of the season and shall review the position at the end of the season.

"Kevin Bond worked closely with Harry Redknapp over an extended 10-year period, accumulating to over 480 games as Assistant Manager including long periods at Portsmouth, Tottenham and QPR."

Despite his work with Redknapp, Bond's only experience as a manager in England came during a spell at Bournemouth between 2006 and 2008, where he was hampered by points deductions as the club were relegated to League Two.

Taking to Twitter to react to the news, a number of Southend fans appeared far from happy with news of the appointment.