IT’S been a very excitable week at the football club but we’re doing all we can to make the preparation for Saturday’s play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers as normal as we can.

The lads have trained well and that included a great session on the pitch at Roots Hall.

With the corporate stuff that’s going on there at the moment, there’s four five-a-side pitches marked out on the pitch so we put them to good use ourselves.

Everyone is looking to make a good impression because this game, more than any other this season, is one they will want to be involved in.

I’ve had 22 outfield players training but obviously only 10 of them can be picked and I’ve had three goalkeepers training when we can only pick one.

Decisions will need to be made but one we have already made is that the players will be going to the game in their club tracksuits.

We spoke it over with the group because it’s important that we do whatever makes them most comfortable.

But, with us trying to treat it like just another game, I think tracksuits are the right decision.

Last time we went to Wembley the chairman paid out quite a lot of money for everyone to have club suits but, just four or five games later, around 14 of them had left.

There’s also a lot less time to prepare for the big day this time but we’re doing the same as we have all season.

That’s got us to where we are now and we don’t want to suddenly change.

GETTING ACCUSTOMED TO WEMBLEY

WE’RE going to look around Wembley tomorrow before going off to our hotel and I think that’s an important thing to do.

Going there before the day of the game allows you to get used to everything and means you’re less in awe of the place when you go back for the game.

I remember a funny incident back in 2001 when we got to the play-off final with Bolton Wanderers against Preston North End.

Sam Allardyce had asked if we could train on the Millennium Stadium pitch the day before the game like teams do in the Champions League but he was told it wouldn’t be possible.

However, Sam then came up with the idea of doing a training session where the players walked through the systems they would be using in the game but there were all kind of officials at the side of the pitch going mad about it all.

It must have worked though because we went on to win the game 3-0 so maybe it’s something I’ll have to do with Southend tomorrow too!

THE SUPPORT IS JUST INCREDIBLE

I’VE been keeping tabs on the ticket sales for the final and it’s magnificent 18,000 had been sold before the start of business yesterday.

These play-off games are the envy of the football world and to see 47,000 fans at Wembley for a Conference final was fantastic.

Hopefully we can have 25,000 there on the day roaring us on because that would really make a massive difference to the team.

But, having more fans than Wycombe doesn’t give us a divine right to win, and we need to make sure we perform on the pitch too.

IT'S ALL ABOUT SOUTHEND THIS WEEK, NOT HULL

THERE’S been plenty of media interest around everything that’s going on at the moment but I keep on getting calls about Hull City’s game against Manchester United on Sunday.

It obviously brings back memories from when I was at Hull and we stayed up on the last day despite losing to Man United.

But I don’t want to talk about anything other than Southend United this week.

Everything we’ve got is going into this game and it’s all I’m thinking about and focusing on.

The only way I’ll enjoy watching the football on Sunday is by winning on Saturday and that’s what we will be going out to do.