ONE day there might be a time where Southend United enjoy a drama free week.

But right now you sense that will not be happening any time soon.

To put it simply, the club is complete carnage at the moment and, amid the ongoing chaos and crisis, it has been hanging on to small strands of positivity by its finger tips.

The pleasing aspects at Roots Hall are of course the players, the head coach, the staff and the superb supporters.

But ultimately that can only take you so far when you are hindered by how the club is run and funded.

And I very much doubt that any other club in the country continues to be as poorly overseen as the Shrimpers.

The performances of the team – who I cannot speak highly enough of – have helped to paper over the cracks at times this season.

But for me Kevin Maher faces the toughest task in football right now and I genuinely do not know how he keeps going with the never ending issues coming his way.

I have often expressed what Southend means to me on these pages but since the events of Friday night I have been left subdued and drained by yet another depressing episode unfolding.

On the pitch, Blues gave their all but did not pose as many problems as Barnet in the final third and that ultimately led to the visitors picking up all three points.

The Bees should have been reduced to 10 men in the first half when Sam Beard brought down Henry Sandat but the decision did not go the way the Shrimpers wanted and neither did events before kick-off either.

Influential defender Kacper Lopata was declared unavailable for selection before later confirming his departure from Roots Hall following a ‘serious breach of contract by the club’.

The situation started when the Shrimpers squad were still waiting for their January wages and it is my understanding Lopata was not happy with how Ron Martin spoke to the squad in a meeting at the training ground during that time.

That resulted in Lopata starting to seek a way out of the club and handing in his notice which led to a hearing taking place.

The panel at that sided with Lopata which enabled him to leave, although Blues insist they are still able to play a part in deciding the defender’s future.

But, either way, it is an embarrassing state of affairs.

Lopata has been a key figure for the Shrimpers since signing and the statistics underline that even further.

Since he first signed on loan last October, Blues have played 44 matches with the centre-back and 23 games without.

During that time, Blues conceded an average of one goal a game with him in the team and picked up an average 1.7 points per game.

But without him, that becomes 1.6 goals conceded per game with an average of 1.08 points picked up.

Sure, players move on.

It is part and parcel of lower league football and, done properly, is also what enables clubs to continue.

But the manner of Lopata’s departure and the fact the Shrimpers look likely to miss out on a transfer fee is yet another tough one to take.

The winding up petitions, the late payments of wages and the transfer embargo, which has been in place since September, also fall into that category too.

The Shrimpers squad is crying out for additional attacking options right now but that remains impossible.

It really is one thing after another at this stage and just as you think it cannot get any worse, it does.

The players would have been affected by Lopata’s departure ahead of Friday night’s game but will now also have seen that they can walk away.

How many will still be here next season and who else will want to sign for a club in a state like this?

It really is a painful situation because there are glimpses of what the Shrimpers could and should be.

More than 7,000 fans packed into the stadium on Friday night and just imagine what would have been possible if Maher had the freedom and finances to add to his squad throughout the season.

Incredibly, despite the issues, Blues are still right in the race for the play-offs and can be assured to give their all in a bid to pull off what appears to be mission impossible.

But all those working so tirelessly to transform the Shrimpers are continually being let down in painful fashion.

What is a terrific club is now tarnished and the way it continues to be run means Blues run the risk of losing more good staff.

And that will not change until Ron Martin funds the club properly, welcomes new investment or moves on.

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