SOMETIMES in football, all is not as it seems.

But when it came to Adam Barrett at Southend United what you saw was always what you got.

Committed, passionate and loyal - he bled Shrimpers blue and, in my 15 years reporting on the club, was the proudest player I’ve seen to pull on a Southend shirt.

Nowadays in the modern game, footballers can be seen to kiss the badge one second and be demanding to leave the next.

However, Adam possessed genuine love for Blues having watched his home-town club from the terraces as a kid.

Many will have their favourite moments of Adam and most will centre around the three promotions he helped the Shrimpers to secure.

But my own favourite memory with Adam came shortly after Blues had beaten Lincoln City in the League Two play-off final at the Millennium Stadium back in 2005.

One by one long after the game, the joyous Southend squad made their way down the stairs to board the coach back home.

Many smiled and showed their joy but Adam stood arms aloft at the top of the stairs roaring with delight before also making his way down.

This was a moment carried out away from television cameras, photographers and reporters other than myself but it perfectly summed up the passion Adam had for Blues.

Off the field, you could not meet a nicer person either.

Just last year I asked him if it would be OK for him to just to pop into a Southend United themed quiz night to help raise funds for Havens Hospices.

Due to his demanding schedule, I said it would be great if he could stay even half an hour.

Yet Adam stayed for more than three hours, presented the medals at the end of the evening and came up with even more ideas to raise even more money for the charity.

That warmth and kindness made Adam a true fans' favourite and the biggest disappointment is the way his Southend United career has come to an end.

Having made more than 350 appearances for the club, Adam deserved to end his playing career to a standing ovation at a packed Roots Hall not through a midweek press release.

Hopefully someone at the club will now see sense and put on a match at the earliest possibility for fans to pay tribute to Barrett - because not many in the club’s history will ever have deserved it more.