NO football club was more pleased to hear the news that Southend United look set to be saved from administration than Great Wakering Rovers.

The village club, based at Burroughs Park, have enjoyed a great relationship with Blues and manager Iain O’Connell was once on their playing staff.

Said Rovers’ official Nobby Johnson: “Blues have always been keen to support us and give us help in the past, so it was natural we should do the same when we heard of their financial problems.

“We contacted them immediately to ask if there was anything we could do to help and we offered to stage any fund-raising events which they might want to hold at our ground free of charge.

“They have always been keen to visit us for pre-season friendly games that have attracted good crowds and gone a long way towards helping our own finances.

“If it turns out that Southend have overcome their problems that’s great news.”

Just how close the community ties between the two clubs are can best be illustrated by the support given by Blues to next week’s Help for Heroes charity match being staged by Wakering on Wednesday, November 11, at Burroughs Park in support of the armed forces.

For no less than 22 of the players involved in the Armistice Day match are current or former Roots Hall men.

The match, which kicks-off at 7.45pm, will see a team of Legends take on a Heroes line-up.

The managers will be Millwall’s former Rovers’ striker Neil Harris and Southend skipper Adam Barrett taking on a line-up led by former Blues manager and player Paul Clark and current first-teamer Alan McCormack.

Other current and ex Southend United men involved include manager Steve Tilson, his assistant Paul Brush, kit man Steve Parmenter and former England boss Peter Taylor.

Ex Spurs star Justin Edinburgh, Danny Greaves, David Crown, Bill Garner, Nicky Smith, Adrian Owers, Dave Cusack, Frankie Banks, Ronnie Pountney, O’Connell, Phil Dudley, Tony Hadley, Paul Sansome, Andy Edwards, and Garry Nelson complete the Blues connection.

Others taking part on a night which will see 10 serving soldiers in full uniform in attendance are ex-West Ham defender and current Grays Athletic manager Julian Dicks, former Millwall keeper Brian Horne and ex Spurs and Brentford full-back Brian Statham, who now manages Billericay Town.

The match is being backed by Echo Newspapers along with Southend Radio, Asda, Shoebury and Insureandgo and sponsored by Wakering’s backers Inner London Group.

Former BBC Essex presenter Peter Holmes will be the match announcer and the guest list on the night includes Southend East and Rochford MP James Duddridge, Robert and Margaret Errington, from the Essex Senior League, plus Essex FA representatives Michael Game and Phil Sammons.