A FRUSTRATED Southend United supporter has his say.

This is one of the hardest if not the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write. To some it may sound melodramatic but I can only imagine writing letters to loved ones when your waiting to die to be worse.

To me, over the last few years watching the ‘fortunes’ has been like watching a loved one die, slowly and painfully in front of your eyes and knowing that death, when it comes will be no easier, possibly harder.

My first game was a pre season friendly Vs West Ham in 1991.

I stood on the north stand with my dad, step mother and a friend.

I’ll never forget my dad calling me over to stand next to him just before kick off.

This was when we could stand, it was about 10 rows back, we stood next to one another, him on my left his arm around me and when the game kicked off, he turned to me and said ‘My grandfather always brought me to games and we used to stand in this exact spot’.

From that on I’ve been a Shrimper.

Southend will, more than likely never be a top flight club, there bound to be more pain than joy, but despite everything, we always want what’s best for the club, that’s what makes supporting a club like Southend so special, it’s like an extended family.

When we played Wrexham in the LDV vans trophy final, I travelled from Glenties in Co. Donegal, took four buses to get to Cardiff and then the same to get back after, that’s how much the club means to me.

Let’s get some things right though, the reason we over achieved when Tilly was manager was there was a corporate structure and stability in management that is no longer the case.

The nucleus of the players were local or local enough to know the club meant to the fans. There was shrewd recruiting of players. None of this has happened since the last CEO left.

There is no doubt Ron Martin knows how to run a business, you don’t make the money he has without knowing what your at, but running a football club and his other companies along with his determination to build a new stadium and other parts of his plans have come back to bit us, the fans in the bum.

He cannot and will not lose.

He along with the council have to take the lion's share of the blame for Southend United almost definitely no longer being a Football League club.

He got lucky with Kevin Bond not getting us relegated but he has been found short this time.

He needs to not only review the football side of things but also the business side of the club.

We desperately need a a CEO.

Depending on the next manager we need a director of football, a person with a proven track record, potentially widen the net with the recruitment of players too.

I live in Belfast and watch football both sides of the border and there are some great players waiting to be picked up.

That said, if I was to pick a director of football and also someone to over see player recruitment I would look to appoint Spencer Prior and Dean Austin in the respective roles.

My final thoughts, is that whilst supporting Southend United hasn’t been fun or enjoyable for a long, long time the feeling of defeat has almost been accepted by the players and when we went 2-0 down to Colchester I felt something for the first time in almost six months, unfortunately that feeling was numbness.

Ron Martin, you have had your pound of flesh.

You should hang your head in shame.

Jonathan Round