SOUTHEND United’s centre-back pairing Chris Barker and Mark Phillips will be wanting to avoid any close shaves at Swindon Town tomorrow.

And that is something the defensive duo will have to get used to during the remainder of September.

Phillips and Barker, along with young striker Harry Crawford, will not be shaving until the start of October and they hope to raise plenty of money for Breast Cancer Care.

“I lost my mum to breast cancer so it is a cause close to home for me,” said Blues skipper Barker.

“The campaign is called Beards for Boobs month and it’s the third time that this has taken place.

“It was Mark who suggested we got involved and a few of us decided to join in but there is a bit of competition over who can grow the best beard.

“It will be interesting to see how we look but the only slight concern is that we might end up being the scruffiest team in the league.”

The club’s physiotherapist Ben Clarkson and media manager David Scriven are also raising funds for the charity by not shaving and striker Neil Harris is creating awareness by joining in too.

Together they have already raised close to £1,000 but Phillips is keen to raise even more.

“It’s a great charity and we want to do our bit to help,” said the defender.

“It would be brilliant to raise a good amount of money and to also create awareness of the work they do.

“We’ve had great support from the fans already and hope that continues.”

Anyone else wanting to sponsor those taking part in the fund raiser can do so by donating online at www.justgiving.com/b4bmarkphillips, www.justgiving.com/b4bharry, www.justgiving.com/b4bchris, www.justgiving.com/b4bdavid or www.justgiving.com/b4bben.