PHIL Brown is hoping his lucky pants can inspire Southend United to play off glory at Burton Albion on Sunday.

The Shrimpers boss has seen his side lose just once in nine games while wearing his superstitious underwear.

And Brown wants them to again work their magic for the first leg of the play-off semi-final at the Pirelli Stadium this weekend.

“The first time I wore them was at Bristol Rovers when I wasn’t feeling very well but our results started to pick up after that so I’ve kept on wearing them and I will be in them again on Sunday,” said Brown.

“I kept on wearing them even when we lost to AFC Wimbledon because I was still pleased with the performance and we had enough chances to win two or three games that afternoon.

“They’re not really the sexiest pair of underpants you’ll ever see but hopefully they can help us produce the goods this weekend and in the second leg so then I can get to wear them at Wembley as well.”

Blues head in to the game having beaten Burton 1-0 in their final League Two game of the season last weekend.

That handed them their second victory of the season against the Brewers.

And Brown is now hoping for more of the same in the next fortnight.

“We’ve down well against the top teams this year and want to keep that going when it matters the most,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“This is what we’ve been working towards all season but we’re in good shape and we’re looking forward to these games.”

Burton ended the season just below the Shrimpers in sixth but triumphed in just one of their last five league games.

Sunday’s game kicks off at 12 noon and will be shown live on Sky Sports One.

Blues are also expected to take at least 1,500 fans to the game.