Kevin Maher is no stranger to winning promotion with his belovedSouthend. The club stalwart helped them earn back-to-back promotions as a player in 2005 and 2006 and was a near ever-present in their season in the Championship in 2006-07. Now he stands on the verge of a managerial achievement that could possibly eclipse anything from his playing days, given the Shrimpers’ recent travails.
Even the lofty heights of League Two have seemed unreachable in the past few years. Many Southend fans assumed for a long time that a route back to the Football League this season would prove beyond them after finishing seventh, 28 points behind second-placed York. But those struggles on and off the pitch help to explain why Maher is so keen to grasp this opportunity, as Southend prepare to faceOldhamin the National League playoff final at Wembley on Sunday.
Maher says it will be a proud moment to lead out his players given his affiliation to the club, which dates back to 1998 when he signed as a 22-year-old from Tottenham. He never got the chance to play at Wembley despite competing in three playoff finals – all were staged in Cardiff as England’s national stadium was being rebuilt. Yet despite the emotion his approach is a calm and measured one.
“It’s not the occasion, it’s what it entails, it’s the game itself,” he says. “Hopefully we’ve got many more days to come with success for the football club and this is an opportunity we want to take. Playoff games are cup games, so anything can happen. What you’ve got to do is come out on the right side of results and we’ve managed to do that so far.”
Peaking in the playoffs is always an art form and Southend have indeed come good at the right time, battling past Rochdale and Forest Green, who finished fourth and third in the league respectively, to reach Wembley, where they will be backed by close to 25,000 fans – the capacity of the game upped to 50,000 after Shrimpers’ fans lobbied MPs for their ticket allocation to be increased. It could have been more but for unfortunately timed engineering works closing Wembley Park tube station.
“It’s madness,” says Maher. “I guess us and Oldham have put a spanner in the works. We as a club could have taken close to 40,000 with us . So you could have had 70,000 in the stadium for a game in the fifth tier of English football.
“I’m gutted for the fans who have missed out. It always seems to be fans who suffer when there’s bureaucracy going on.”
The demand for tickets shows not only the size and history of Southend but the belief and passion Maher has instilled in the club. They finished the regular season with home attendances at Roots Hall nearing 10,000 – double what they were attracting when he took over in October 2021.
Back then the club had just endured back-to-back relegations, falling into non-league in a tailspin of debt, missed wage payments and winding-up orders from the high court. In 2023 the situation was so dire fans started making plans for a phoenix club, and there was a points deduction in 2023-24 before finally a sale to Justin Rees, the new chair, saved the club from liquidation.
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Maher remained in his post through all the chaos, a guiding hand on the tiller. Few understand the club’s history like him. “It’s the story of what the club is,” he says of the era of financial struggles. “We don’t shy away from that or dismiss what’s come before. First and foremost we should be proud that we have a football club. You wouldn’t have this football club without people sticking with us and being loyal. But we always look forward as well.
“I’ve been at this football club and we’ve won things, even as under-23s manager, and that’s my focus. We will be incredibly proud of the players no matter what they do, but the focus is winning.”
Perhaps that is where Maher’s vast experience will truly count. He knows results will ultimately define him and Southend, and how badly the club need Football League status to continue their story. Oldham, for a long time rivals of the Shrimpers in League One and Two, are apt opponents in the playoff final and crave promotion for similar reasons. So what would victory on Sunday mean to Maher?
“It would mean everything, of course, that’s an easy one. I know how special Southend is as a club. But I don’t allow myself to get carried away because I’ve got too much respect for our opponents. We’ll make sure we are ready when we cross the white line. It’s about performing on the day. You enjoy it more when you win.”