ECHOSPORT talks to Accrington Stanley fan Kieran Holden ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Roots Hall.

Accrington were promoted from League Two last season. What were the hopes for the team going into this campaign and have you been happy with how things have been going so far?

“My hopes for us at the start of the season haven’t changed now. I still say that we are capable of being in the play-offs and I can see us achieving that to be honest.

“We’ve done well so far.”

Accrington are currently 12th in the standings but haven’t won in their last six League games. Is that a concern and what do you feel has started to go wrong?

“In fairness our form hasn’t been great lately but when you watch the players week in week out you see that it’s just a bit of bad luck going against us. We’ve still given a really good account of ourselves and I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”

We’re coming up to the halfway stage in the season now so what would you say are the hopes for the rest of the campaign?

“My hopes for the rest of the season is to stay in the top half of the table and also to finish above Luton!”

Who would you say is the Accrington dangerman that Southend need to keep an eye out for this weekend?

“I’d say our dangerman would be Sam Finley. I think his work rate has been second to none every week.

“Billy Kee and Sean McConville are also joint top scorers for us with seven goals each.”

What’s the team news for tomorrow’s game?

“King Coley (manager John Coleman) doesn’t like to make many changes so I wouldn’t expect the team to be too different from last week.”

What’s the expected starting line-up this weekend?

“Ripley, Johnson, Hughes, Sykes, Anderton, McConville, Finley, Barlaser, Clark, Kee, Zanzala.