Albion could find themselves in the centre of a demonstration storm on the opening day of the new season.

Angry Southend United fans are expected to stage a series of protests when Micky Adams' men visit Roots Hall on August 12.

The hard-up Essex club were yesterday saved from administration when an outstanding £400,000 bill to the Inland Revenue was paid by major shareholder Martin Dawns and his backers Delancey Estates.

Delancey are putting £1.5million into the club and, in return, want popular chairman John Main to step down.

Main, who has the fans' backing, refuses to go, leaving Delancey to call an EGM and use their 76 per cent share in the club to force him out The off-field drama is overshadowing Southend's buildup to the new season and fans are expected to use the Albion game as platform, for protests in favour of Main.

Reporter Bernie Friend, who covers Southend for the Evening Echo in Essex, said: "It will be Demo City at Roots Hall that day.

"The chairman does not want to go and he has the fans' support.

"They invaded the directors box at a friendly this week to cheer him and show their support so you can imagine what will happen at a league game with 7,000 people."

Delancey confirmed their intent to sack Main both as chairman and a director.

But 29-year-old Southend fan Damian Brown, who led Tuesday night's invasion during a 3-1 defeat by Gillingham, insisted: "He is the best thing that has happened to this club.

"He is the only chairman who has put in effort to talk to the fans. We won't let him go."

Delancey intend to build on Roots Hall, which is on the northern fringes of the town centre, in the next three years.

But Southend's situation does not appear to be as grave as that which faced Albion in 1997, with the club expected to move into a 16,000 capacity ground at Fossetts Farm in the town as part of the Delancey deal.