SOUTHEND United legend Spencer Prior has made a passionate plea to chairman Ron Martin to ‘sort out’ the Shrimpers.

Blues remain in a perilous financial position with the club having until the start of March to pay off a large bill to HMRC.

And Prior – who won four promotions with his hometown club – is deeply concerned for Southend’s future and has called on Martin do what is needed to ensure the Shrimpers survive.

“Ron is not the answer in the medium and long term but he has to be the solution in the short-term because it’s all about now,” said Prior.

“There’s no time to really go and look for investors and buyers.

“Get the bridging loan sorted and then consider what the future might look like after that.

“I played across three decades for Southend, I started in the 1980s and came back and finished in the 2000s.

“I watched my first game there in 1979 as well and having been associated with the club as long as I have I just can’t imagine there’s a day where my club is no longer there.

“I can’t get my head around that and I’m really struggling with it to be honest.

“If the club goes under, it’s down to one man and Ron has to sort it out.”

Blues have twice seen the winding up petition from HMRC adjourned.

Speaking at the start of October, Shrimpers chairman Martin insisted a bridging loan to cover the debt would be sorted in ‘weeks not months’.

But the loan has yet to be agreed, much to the frustration of Prior.

“We’ve heard so much about a bridging loan being in place to pay off the debt,” said Prior, who now lives in Australia.

“We were hearing that it was going to be sorted in October.

“All we want rather than Ron to say trust me, I’m sorting this out, is definite timelines.

“We were told it was going to be weeks but it’s been months now.

“It’s gone super quiet and there’s been no transparency with regards to how far along they are in the process of getting that done.”

The winding up petition also means Blues remain under a transfer embargo while staff are still waiting to be paid their wages for December and January.

Frustrated fans continue to call for Martin to quit the club but Prior fully understands it is a complicated situation.

And the 51-year-old also knows Martin owning the land makes it even harder to attract a new owner.

“I know Ron talks about a legacy for the club but in my opinion this is ultimately all about him wanting the accommodation and housing built,” said Prior.

“It’s this which is the biggest challenge in trying to get somebody new in as well.

“Ron will want control of those assets so if somebody comes in what are they buying?

“The reality is that I don’t think the solution is for Ron to leave in the short-term.

“He’s got to settle the debts and pay the wages but he is the man who is responsible for this.”

 

And Prior also feels that goes way beyond financial management and believes Martin was to blame for the back to back relegations which see Blues now lining up in the National League.

“Relegation has hurt the club but that’s also down to Ron in terms of the people he’s put in to jobs that haven’t been good enough,” said Prior.

“Embargoes are part of the problem but the first relegation was down to poor management in my opinion.

“You can’t keep on hiding behind Covid forever either.”

In between his two spells for the Shrimpers, Prior played in the Premier League for four different clubs.

But he maintains genuine affection for Blues and had words of praise for the job his former Roots Hall team-mate Kevin Maher is now doing as head coach.

“I love seeing what Kev is doing,” said Prior.

“I was back in February last year.

“I was sitting talking with Kev and Darren Currie and it was great.

“They’re super passionate and they’re making it an enjoyable environment for the players.

“But the hard thing for them is that they know what’s going on behind the scenes and the people who aren’t getting paid.

“It’s horrible knowing staff are suffering when you’re trying to focus on the football.

“It’s super hard to motivate yourself every day when that’s happening and it’s just so sad to see.

“I was there under Vic Jobson when everyone said how hard it was then but this is another level in terms of where the club is at now.”

And Prior feels great sympathy for the supporters.

“The club is massively important for the community,” said the former defender.

“When everything else is rubbish and there’s a cost of living crisis going on, this is everyone’s release on a Saturday.

“Fans are still going in big numbers but where are the supporters going if the club doesn’t exist?

“Just get the bridging loan sorted and sorted now so the club can pay off the debt.

“My former club Derby were really close to going and have come through it.

“But what really scares me is the clubs who haven’t.”