Team spirit can power City back to Wembley in the play-offs, Phil Parkinson claimed today.

They clinched a top-seven finish with a 1-0 victory over Burton in the 60th game of this historic campaign.

And Parkinson believes the tight bond within the squad can maintain the charge towards a potential second appearance in three months at the national stadium.

He said: “When I came into the club last year there were so many players. It wasn’t a healthy situation.

“Myself, Steve (Parkin) and the two chairmen sat down in the summer and decided to go for a tighter squad and only use the loan market in emergencies.

“We wanted to try and form a spirit. Nobody could argue the spirit among this group of players is unquestioned.

“That comes from having a tight group because everybody knows that every week they’ve got a chance of playing. It’s not just the 11. Players like Doyley (Nathan Doyle), Matt Duke and Carl McHugh have made great contributions to get us into this position.

“Never underestimate the Wembley effect. Southend have won only one game before and after the JPT final.

“We had Arsenal and Aston Villa twice, some incredible games for these players and the fact we’ve still ended up in the play-offs is a great achievement.”

Saturday’s 13,235 crowd was only 200 down on the League Two season’s best in midweek against Rotherham.

Parkinson is bracing himself for a huge turn-out in the play-off first leg – City’s third appearance in the end-of-season showdown and first since 1996.

“The support we get when those play-offs come will be unprecedented for a club at this level.

“To get another 13,000 with only 400 away fans was brilliant. The lads have enjoyed playing in front of our supporters every game this season and now we’ve got to do it one more time.

“It’s important that after so many games this year we’ve got players who are in good form. That’s got to bode well.

“This club has waited a long time to get into this position and now we’ve got the chance of going to Wembley again. What a great feeling that would be.”

Kyel Reid is fighting to be fit in time after going off with a thigh injury. But Parkinson is hoping it will not prove too serious.

The City chief will rest players in Saturday’s final league game at fourth-placed Cheltenham – who are likely to be the play-off opponents if they miss out on the last automatic promotion spot.

He said: “Players like James Meredith, who was clearly struggling towards the end of the game with his hip, and others who’ve had bumps and bruises can have a break.

“We can really recharge the batteries before we go into the play-offs.”

The first leg will take place at Valley Parade a week on Thursday with the return three days later. The League Two final is on Saturday, May 18.

* The club’s player-of-the-year awards night has been put back a week until Tuesday, May 7.