Southend 'don't want season to end'
After just three wins in their first 13 games of the season, it looked like Southend were more likely to be focussed on avoiding relegation rather than promotion.But seven wins in the next 15 - and only four defeats - kept them in the hunt for the top seven at the end of January.And only three more losses - and that final-day draw against the Heed - saw Southend into the final play-off spot."It's been a slow burner," Maher said."There have been bumps along the road and setbacks that we've overcome but we've got a group of players that have given everything for the football club and given themselves an opportunity to finish the job off."
'We're only thinking about winning'
Given the turmoil of the past few years when the club have faced a raft of winding-up petitions over unpaid taxes, a 10-point penalty, and were only 42 days away from going under at one point, for Southend to have a shot at regaining their EFL status is remarkable.Even the sale to new owners COSU (Custodians of Southend United), a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees, took a year to complete.Despite the uncertainty, Maher has got the Shrimpers to Wembley - an achievement he says has come ahead of schedule."When we spoke to the people at the top of the club, they knew it would be a transitional season because there was so much behind the scenes that needed to be done," he said."But when opportunities come you've got to be ready for them and we feel like we've been ready."We're building momentum and have been getting stronger as the season has gone on and we kept saying to the players we're not yet ready to finish our season and it's felt that way the last four or five weeks."
Sunday's opposition Oldham, like Southend, have battled against dire financial problems, after their own takeover in 2022.Maher says both clubs will feel they deserve to be back in League Two."They've had a tough couple of years as well. But when you look at Southend and what we've had to do, what the club's been through, the fans stood by the team and the club, I think they deserve this and we want to get it over the line," he said.
Maher 'gutted' for fans who can't make final
The build-up to the game has come against the backdrop of a ticketing row over the reduction in allocation for both clubs due to engineering works on the London Underground.No trains are stopping at Wembley Park Stadium with Southend and Oldham's initial allocation being capped at 17,500 because of safety concerns.The overall capacity has since been increased to 50,000 following pressure from MPs but it has left Maher sharing supporters' frustrations."You've got the fifth tier of English football in the national stadium and they can't get enough people in, which is madness," he told BBC Essex."I guess us and Oldham have put a spanner in the works with the number of people that'll come because, speaking to the club, we would've taken close to 40,000."Oldham are a huge club and they could take 20,000 to 30,000, so you could've had 60,000 to 70,000 watching the fifth tier of the English pyramid, which is unbelievable."I'm gutted for the fans who have missed out."
'I couldn't have dreamed of playing at Wembley'
One player determined to make the most of the Wembley experience is prolific defender Gus Scott-Morriss.The right-back scored the crucial spot-kick that beat Forest Green on penalties after Southend had equalised four minutes from the end of extra time to force the shootout.Reflecting on his match-winning moment, Scott-Morriss - who has scored an incredible 17 times this season - said the realisation of reaching Wembley soon hit him."I've never played there before and when the penalties went in, that's the first thing I thought of," he said.Having been at the club for three years and playing full-time for the first time, Scott-Morriss has directly experienced Southend's off-field hardships."It's been a real rollercoaster ride since I've been here," he told BBC Look East. "Nothing's really been plain sailing - even this season, so there's that real connection with the fans."We could have been knocked out quite easily twice [in the play-offs] - even the Gateshead game was like a play-off game, we knew it was do or die and we got the job done."I couldn't have dreamed of playing at Wembley three or four years ago. I'm excited for the challenge and, hopefully, it'll be one to savour for the future."
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