SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher remains fully committed to the Shrimpers – despite the huge issues he is facing at Roots Hall.
Blues are battling to be allowed to start the National League season due to their crippling financial position which has seen Maher’s squad reduced to just 14 contracted players.
But the former Shrimpers midfielder will not be walking away.
“I’ve got a loyalty to this club, the players, the staff and the fans and I want to be successful here,” said Maher.
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“What success means at the moment is perhaps slightly different to what has been in the past but we’re taking it day by day and we’re doing all we can.
“Of course it’s very difficult and yes I’ve been worried.
“There’s no point denying that but this club means a hell of a lot to me and we’ve got to do all we can from our perspective to be in the best position possible.
“The start of the season isn’t too long away now.
“It will be here before we know it and we have to do all we can to be in the best shape possible.
“That’s all we can do and we can’t affect anything else that’s going on at the club.”
Blues were back in court last Wednesday due to a winding up petition from HMRC which saw them handed an additional 42 days to pay off a tax debt of £275,000.
Staff at Roots Hall have gone three months without being paid while some have not been received their salaries in four.
However, the problems do not stop there.
The Shrimpers squad trained separately for a week as they waited for their wages while they are still without medical cover as that department has yet to be paid.
The Boots & Laces training ground is still without water due to an unpaid bill while Blues have been forced to call off their last two pre-season friendlies due to a lack of available players.
And Maher admits his squad are already playing catch up.
“We’re behind, everyone knows that,” said the Blues boss, who along with his backroom team is not up to date with his own wages.
“Obviously the players were off for a week and it’s been difficult but we’re modifying training when we can and I have to say the players have been fantastic with the way they’ve approached things and applied themselves.
“The staff at the club have been great as well but it’s tough and we obviously need to start playing games.
“We did all we could to get the Billericay game on but we do have a couple of injuries so it wasn’t possible.
“We thank Billericay for being so understanding about the situation but we need to get minutes into these players for them to be anywhere near ready for the first game.”
The Shrimpers are due to host Oldham Athletic on the opening day of the campaign - if the National League allow the club to keep their place in the fifth tier of English football.
Chairman Ron Martin continues to insist he is doing all he can to sell the club and Maher dreams of a time when football is at the forefront for Blues.
“We all want to just be talking about the football and focusing solely on that as well,” said Maher.
“We could’ve made the play-offs last season and wanted to push for promotion this year too.
“I’m not saying that’s not going to happen but we should all be gearing up for the new season by now and we haven’t really been able to do that yet.
“That’s what we want to be doing and we had 8,5000 fans at our last game which is amazing and we want to be focusing on that too.
“The support we get is best in the league and that’s keeping us going as well.
