Southend United chairman Ron Martin has admitted he’s travelling to Sweden to talk to Henrik Larsson in more depth about the vacant Southend job.

As reported by the Echo News, the Shrimpers boss is making the overseas trip to have another talk with the former Celtic legend, but he isn’t the only candidate on their radar.

However, with such a high-profile name linked with the job, Martin is keen to see what he could offer.

“Henrik Larsson is obviously one of the individuals that we have been interviewing but he is not the only candidate and no decision has been made as I write this statement,” he said.

“I am going to Stockholm in the morning, back in the afternoon, to meet potential ‘back room staff’… but that’s it, gathering information.”

He also suggested that current caretaker manager Garry Waddock could be in the running, despite another defeat at the weekend, although ex-Manchester United striker Larsson is surely the one fans would be most curious about.

The most important thing from the chairman’s point of view is making the right appointment, something he feels he got wrong once before.

“Whatever decision we make will not please everybody for I thought that Chris Powell’s appointment was a good step but a manager’s head is always likely to roll if we keep losing.

“Hopefully, this side of the weekend I will be able to update you again and maybe confirm an appointment also.

“In closing, please bear with me, no one is delaying for any reason and we all want a settled club.”

The Shrimpers have been without a boss since Kevin Bond left the role after six defeats from six at the beginning of the season.

Our View

This is a big appointment for Southend. They narrowly avoided the drop at the end of last year and are surely at a point where the wrong move will result in relegation.

They won’t want another season of failure, not with a decent budget such as theirs, so fans will hope to see a manager appointed soon.

Every game they lose is another small step towards the trapdoor. It might only be the end of September, but almost a quarter of the season has already passed us by.