We have another Q&A feature to throw into the pot ahead of tomorrow's game against Southend United, the third of its kind. This time Shrimpers fan James Cooper answers the questions we put to him about the game, his side and his thoughts ahead of the new season.

Both clubs have had a summer of uncertainty, for those not following what has been going on at Southend, can you give us a brief summary?

Yes alot has gone on over the summer! We've had a transfer embargo, club captain and other key players leaving on a free transfer or by mutural consent. we've sacked our manager and signed 17 players so all is new at Roots Hall next year. But we are beginning to see the light i think.

Long term manager Steve Tilson left in the summer after seven years at Roots Hall and is your most successful manager. What are your views on his departure? Are you happy with his replacement Paul Sturrock?

I think everyone was shocked as 99.999999% of fans don't blame him one bit for Southend's demise. But at the same time maybe change is good as a team of unhappy plaers and manager not happy about missed payments from last year etc might not be a good idea. In Paul Sturrock we have one of the best managers going . so once Tilson was sacked i dont think we could have done any better than Sturrock.

At the time of writing you currently have a transfer embargo imposed on you by the Football League, how has that affected the way that manager Paul Sturrock has gone about his job? Will you be able to put out a side on Saturday? Are there many changes to the side that will face us on Saturday compared to our last meeting in May?

Well Paul has done terrificly well by signing 15 players on pre-contract agreements so as soon as the embargo is lifted (fingers crossed before Saturday) we can have a a squad. Obviously it means he has had to build a team with no money and without the players having full contracts, so Sturrock's done well. Let's just hope the embargo is lifted so we can put a team out. And as i say, since we last played you the only players left in our SQUAD are Antony Grant, Harry Crawford, Scott Spencer, Johnny Herd and Matt Paterson - so a near enough completely different team from last year.

Speaking of that game at the back end of last season, Southend took the honours in a 2-1 win after County had taken the lead in the second half. What did you make of both sides that day?

Yes i remember that game well as i was in the North Bank for the relegation "party". I remember being pleased to get the win but thinking both sides where pretty awful and didnt rate the game as a spectacle so let's hope we both have better seasons this year.

I saw that you picked up a useful 1-1 draw in midweek against West Ham United in a pre-season friendly. How has your pre-season gone? Has it been a good work out ahead of life in npower League Two?

Yes that was a good game. We also played okay in our 1-1 draw against Derby but with so many new faces it's more about getting to know each others games i'd say..

What are your hopes and expectations for this season?

Well with a new team hopefully gelling and a good coach in Sturrock i would say play-offs and then its down to how we cope there after for promotion. But it all depends on how the players gel.

Who do you consider to be your danger man / men ahead of Saturday’s match?

Again with half the team new it is hard to say but we still have Antony Grant in midfield (one of our only loyal bunch from last year). He scored against West Ham in the week and also Matt Patterson who i think could do well in this League.

What is your prediction for Saturday’s game?

Head says 1-1, heart says 2-1 to Southend but i'll say 1-1 which i'd happily take at the moment

Which game are you looking forward to the most this coming season? I guess the closest thing to a derby match this season are the games against Gillingham?

Although that is the closet game we have never really had a rivalry with gillingham (though that might change if they beat us). I don't think we will have any real rivalries but i am personally looking forward to teams like Accrington away and the smaller grounds i haven't been to before.

Are there any recommendations for pubs for visiting County fans?

Yes the Spread Eagle will usually let away fans in. If not then the Blue Boar is an away pub. Also in the town centre (20 mins walk away) there is Weatherspoons.

You have plans in place for a new stadium, how far along are these? What are your views on leaving Roots Hall?

Well to be honest we have had the permission for ages now and are still waiting for it to start. Roots Halls had some good moments over the years such as winning League One and beating Manchester United 1-0. But we need a change and a bigger ground to hopefully be a mid table stable Championship club eventually.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters