SOUTHEND United may have gone down, but fans' spirits most definitely remain up.

About 20 supporters will put on a variety of fancy-dress outfits to travel to Southampton for the Blues' last game of the season this weekend.

Southend United were relegated to League One on Saturday, having been promoted two seasons in a row.

However, fans remained upbeat about the season, citing the victory over Manchester United in the Carling Cup as a highlight, not just for the season but also in the club's history.

They also remained confident their team would be back in the Championship next season.

Alex Cast, 18, of Moat End, Thorpe Bay, is a sixth-former at Southend High School for Boys and will be dressing as Barney the dinosaur for Sunday's game.

He said: "I've had a season ticket for the past ten years and I've really noticed an improvement in the atmosphere in the last two seasons.

"People seem really proud to walk around in Southend shirts and that isn't something you really saw a few years ago.

"It's not been the best season, but there was the win over Manchester United, which was probably the best-ever moment for me in Southend's history."

Garry Maskell, 18, of Palmerston Road, Westcliff, will cheer his team on at their final game, dressed as a Womble.

He said: "I've always wanted to dress as a Womble for some reason - then I saw the costume in the shop.

"We want to give the other fans a bit of a laugh and see if we can get on TV.

"The support for away games has been amazing this year. So many people have been travelling, even on the long trips, like going up to the game at Preston."

Brian Wheeler, commercial manager at Southend United, said: "We think it's absolutely fantastic.

"It's traditional, at the end of the season, for fans to dress up and it shows the level of our support this year.

"We're really pleased more than 3,000 people are going to Southampton to support the team, even though they've been relegated.

"It really shows the level of the support we have.

"We would encourage all Blues fans to go down to Southampton and have a really good day out at our last match in the Championship."