Southend United boss Kevin Maher on Essex club's tough few years

Southend boss moved to tears as he recalls brush with extinction

29 minutes ago Share Save Lewis Adams BBC News, Essex Glenn Pennyfather BBC Sport, Essex Share Save

BBC Kevin Maher told the BBC what it was like to steer Southend United through crisis

Southend United boss Kevin Maher was moved to tears as he recalled how the club nearly went extinct. The Essex side was blighted by legal battles, transfer embargoes and docked points before a takeover deal was completed in July. On one occasion, Maher said he had to drive the kit van home because he feared it would be repossessed, while another time, the club could not afford washing powder. "You probably don't realise how close it was, we sailed close to the wind a number of times," the 48-year-old said.

Maher, who made 454 appearances for Blues as a player, gave an emotional interview to BBC Essex Sport ahead of his testimonial match later. He returned to Southend as head coach in October 2021, with the side in the National League for the first time in 101 years after back-to-back relegations. "I remember the first few days at Boots and Laces [Southend's training ground] where I started to realise what had gone on," he said. "The club had been suffering, and you could smell it around the place. You could smell the fear."

Getty Images Maher said keeping the lights on at Roots Hall took a toll on his family life

Maher soon found himself battling an uphill task, with pressure intensifying about multi-million pound debts left unpaid by the club and then-chairman, Ron Martin. Blues were then hit with a transfer embargo that lasted more than a year and were docked 10 points early into a turbulent 2023/24 league campaign. The embargo and injuries meant Maher only had enough available players to name a single substitute for a game in December 2023. Defender Gus Scott-Morriss was then forced to go in goal after keeper David Martin went off injured. Soon, the club was unable to pay the wages of both players and staff, and the water at its training ground was turned off. There was even talk of preparing a phoenix club to replace Southend should they fold. "It's only when you're talking about it openly that you realise what became normal wasn't right," Maher said. "For staff not getting paid - players not getting paid - that was really difficult. "I remember getting phone calls, half 11 on a Sunday night, and you're talking to staff about the next day because the money's not coming."

Getty Images Multi-million pound debts left Southend United on the brink of extinction

Maher disclosed how staff used buckets to capture water at Boots and Laces so they could wash items. "I remember one day I had to drive away the kit van because it might've got repossessed," he added. The head coach said the club's dire situation began to take a heavy toll on his family while he carried the stress. But despite other clubs offering to liberate him, Maher said it was loyalty to the players and staff that kept him in the Roots Hall dugout.

'It was tough'

Becoming tearful, he said: "There's times where you're fed-up, you're going 'I can't do this anymore'. "Whether you're tempted to move on or not, I don't know. There were one or two offers, but I didn't think it was right. "You take things home with you and you put them to your family, it was tough. "I'm grateful to have good family around me that dealt with that, because I probably wasn't a great person to be around sometimes. "You shouldn't be dealing with stuff, but you do because you care about people. It was always about the people. "I feel a loyalty for staff who went through periods not getting paid. That's not just the football staff [but] the people at the ground who've done so much for the club."

Getty Images Fans protested outside Ron Martin's house as they called for him to leave the club

The weight was lifted after a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees completed a takeover of the club in July 2024. It followed Mr Martin's almost 25-year chairmanship, regarded by some fans as one of the most disastrous in modern football. Maher is now fighting to take Blues back into the English Football League, having secured a play-off spot on the final day of the season. He said the players and staff created an unbreakable "bond in adversity" during the club's darkest days and hoped it could inspire their triumphant comeback. Maher added: "We always said adversity could be the building block of success if you do it right."

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