Kevin Maher is no stranger to winning promotion with his beloved Southend. The club stalwart helped them earn back-to-back promotions as a player in 2005 and 2006 and was a near ever-present in their season in the Championship in 2006-07. Now he stands on the verge of a managerial achievement that could possibly eclipse anything from his playing days, given the Shrimpers’ recent travails.
Even the lofty heights of League Two have seemed unreachable in the past few years. Many Southend fans assumed for a long time that a route back to the Football League this season would prove beyond them after finishing seventh, 28 points behind second-placed York. But those struggles on and off the pitch help to explain why Maher is so keen to grasp this opportunity, as Southend prepare to face Oldham in the National League playoff final at Wembley on Sunday.
