Southend United boss Kevin Maher is arrowing towards a successful end to the season with the Shrimpers.

Saturday’s 1-0 win against fourth placed Oldham Athletic saw the Shrimpers move to within one point of the National League play-off places.

And Maher – who will soon be joining fans at a darts night for his testimonial – was delighted with the spirit shown both on and off the pitch.

“The support we received on Saturday was huge,” said Maher.

“To have more than 8,000 fans cheering us on like that, especially near the end really makes a difference.

“To hear that support from the North Bank was brilliant and they helped the lads get over the line.

“I have to say the lads were brilliant too but we have to keep that going.

“There’s a long way to go still and a lot of difficult matches still to be played.

“But we can’t afford to look too far ahead and we’ll be thinking about is Saturday’s game at Sutton United.”

Maher has now taken charge of the Shrimpers for 180 games after being appointed as head coach back in 2021.

The 48-year-old previously made 454 appearances for the club as a player during a 10-year spell, before spending three years as Blues’ under 23 team coach.

His long service has now been rewarded with a testimonial year and tickets are now on sale for a darts night. 

Past and present Shrimpers favourites will be stepping up to the oche, alongside Maher, for a night of fun at Chalkwell Park Rooms on Wednesday April 16 and supporters can join them to play.

The competition is open for teams of four, costing £25 per person. And Maher is looking forward to the evening.

“It’s the first event of the testimonial year and it’s a fun one to be starting off with,” said Maher.

“The players regularly play darts at the training ground and they really enjoyed the night they had at the Chalkwell Park Rooms last year so it will be good to go back.

“I’ll be having a go in a team alongside my staff so that will be entertaining in itself and it will be great to get everyone together for an enjoyable night.

“Hopefully we might even get a few 180s between us.”

Tickets for the darts can be purchased on the link below.

Further events are also planned for Maher’s testimonial including a gala dinner and a testimonial match.

The match will take place at Roots Hall on Friday May 16 and will see a side full of Maher’s former Shrimpers team-mates facing a Premier League All Stars XI.