SOUTHEND United are set for a massive windfall after it was announced their FA Cup replay with Chelsea at Roots Hall will be screened live on TV.

The Blues’ third round tie against the Premier League high-flyers, also known as the Blues, will be shown on ITV1 on Wednesday, January 14.

It is the first time the Shrimpers have been shown live on terrestrial television for more than 13 years.

With money from the previous rounds it is estimated Blues are close to making £750,000 from their cup run so far, and a further £75,000 is on offer for the winners of the replay.

Blues manager Steve Tilson believes the Shrimpers’ players deserve their spell in the limelight after such a stunning scoreline at Stamford Bridge.

He said: “It’s fantastic what the lads have done and this is a reward for their efforts, which I think they’ve earned.

“It’s great news for them and the club as a whole as well.

“It obviously brings in more money and on top of that it increases the attention on Southend United, which is brilliant.

“Saturday was just an amazing day for everyone and now we get to have another game against them.”

The match being shown live on ITV will bring £80,000 for the Shrimpers and they will also get £9,000 from Radio Five Live as the station has chosen to commentate live on the replay.

Southend have already been given £50,000 prize money by the FA for reaching the third round and get 45 per cent of the gate receipts from all their FA Cup matches this season.

A crowd of more than 41,000 was at Stamford Bridge last Saturday to see the 1-1 draw, while another sell out crowd of close to 12,000 looks set to cram into Roots Hall next Wednesday.

Tilson added: “The FA Cup is just a tremendous competition and the whole town is buzzing about it now.

“It’s great to see, but we can’t lose sight of the league.

“That remains the most important competition for us and hopefully the cup can help us to get back up the table.”

Robert Craven, from supporters’ group the Shrimpers Trust, said he was hopeful of another shock result to follow on from the 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Carling Cup, in November 2006.

He said: “This is going to be another great night for the club, after such a great day at Stamford Bridge. This is a great chance for even more Southend fans to see the team face last season’s European Champions League finalists, and hopefully repeat our display against Manchester United a couple of years ago.”