SOUTHEND United considered screening their crunch game in Lancashire to thousands of fans back in south Essex.

However, the club said while it looked into the possibility of beaming the game to their Roots Hall stadium, it wasn’t possible.

Morecambe’s Globe Arena only holds 6,400 fans, and while the Blues are expected to bring 2,400 Shrimpers, it means thousands more fans won’t be able to attend. By contrast, Roots Hall has a capacity of 12,392.

Steve Kavangh, the club’s chief executive, said: “We looked into getting the game beamed back to Roots Hall, but that’s not possible, so any fan wanting to see the game will have to be in the ground and we’re doing all we can to help them get there.”