The future of Southend United is vital to the town and must be secured, Sports Minister Tony Banks declared on a whistle-stop tour of south Essex.

The outspoken and often controversial MP said all efforts must be made to ensure the club remained within the town - claiming it was a key to the prosperity of Southend as a whole.

Mr Banks was speaking after the Echo revealed that Roots Hall is to be sold off for £4 million to cover the club's £3.87 million debts - and he said he hoped the team would not be forced to leave.

He said: "Like a lot of people, I learned my geography by listening to the football results.

"Whenever I hear the name Southend I think of the team. It has put the town on the map and the more successful it is, the better for the community.

"The value of a team like Southend is absolutely crucial and we must make sure that these football clubs flourish.

"It would be calamitous if Brighton's situation would be repeated. A team that is forced to move out of its town loses its spirit."

The staunch Chelsea fan was talking while on a ministerial tour of sporting facilities in Castle Point - and he took time to reassure those worried that not enough money was being diverted to the clubs that needed it most.

He added: "We are getting more money into the grass roots. We are getting money coming from the Premier League clubs who are contributing to the lower divisions. It is important that we get help to these teams. Southend needs its football."

The sell-off of Roots Hall would see Southend lease back the ground, although Blues' chairman John Main said there would be no question of the ground being bulldozed before the club had relocated.

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