SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown has no qualms about spending Christmas Day with his players getting ready for the Boxing Day clash at AFC Wimbledon.

The Blues boss insists that the squad must prepare properly for the clash at the Kingsmeadow Stadium.

And that means they will all be put through their paces at the club’s Boots & Laces base tomorrow.

“It’s just another day for us really and we have to make sure we are as prepared as we can be for AFC Wimbledon game so we’ll all be in on Christmas Day,” said Brown.

“Christmas is very much a time for families but I actually see the squad here as a second family now and I think most people would agree with that.

“The spirit is fantastic so we’ll all be in tomorrow, we’ll be making sure we’ve done all we can to be in the best possible shape and then we’ll be looking forward to the game on Boxing Day.”

Blues head in to the game sitting seventh in the League Two table after drawing 1-1 with Rochdale at Roots Hall on Friday night.

And Brown expects to have in-form defender Luke Prosser available for the game, despite him having to come off at half-time against Dale after suffering concussion.

“We’ve had Luke tested and fingers crossed it’s looking like he’ll be able to play,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“He’s been playing very well recently so it will be great to him available and we’ll certainly be going there looking for the three points.”

Blues have no other injury concerns ahead of the clash with the 15th placed Dons.

But Brown is expecting a difficult afternoon.

“Wimbledon have had some good results this season and I know their manager Neal Ardley and his assistant very well indeed so their team will definitely be hard to play against,” said Brown.

“We’ve done well away from home this season apart from the blip at Torquay but we had a good response from that against Rochdale and we’re ready to go again now.

“This is the first of three big games we have coming up in a short space of time and it’s important we pick up points to stay in contention for automatic promotion which remains our main target this season.”