FOOTBALL finance expert Kieran Maguire admits he is genuinely worried for the future of Southend United.

Maguire, who hosts the Price of Football podcast, has kept up to speed with the Shrimpers’ struggles.

And he fears that Blues - who have been given an additional 42 days to pay off a £275,000 tax bill - are going the same way as Bury, who were expelled from the Football League back in 2019 due to their own cash issues.

Maguire told the Echo: “They’ve got a bit more breathing space after the court hearing but Ron Martin plays a game of brinkmanship with other people’s salaries which is very unreasonable of him.

“The fact the water bill isn’t paid is embarrassing and my concern is that there are too many parallels with what we saw with Bury in 2019.

“That’s how it all started with them, with staff unpaid.”

He did offer one, solitary, glimmer of light to fans, adding: “The only positive I see for Southend is that if there is a genuine sale taking place then it does give them an exit route from Ron.”

However, Maguire – who specialises in the accountancy of football – knows it will now be the National League deciding on Blues’ future.

“The league will be concerned about the integrity of the competition because we’ve seen before where a club has started a season having to play kids from the academy,” said Maguire.

“I know the National League won’t want that on their patch but they won’t want to lose a club as big as Southend either.

“They’re up there with one of the worst run clubs in the country.

“Reading is a car crash as well and it’s a very poor situation.

“I guess they were gambling on a further stay of execution but from what I’ve read the stumbling blocks seems to be the stadium side of things."