SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown will be bidding farewell to his lucky beard this week.

Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic made it another unbeaten November in the league for Brown.

But the normally superstitious Shrimpers will not be keeping his facial hair which he grows every year in support of the Movember charity.

“It’s unbelievable how it’s worked out but I’ve had three Novembers here now and we haven’t lost a league game in any of them,” said Brown.

“You do try and look at reasons why that might be but I think it’s just a coincidence, unless it’s down to the beard I grow every year.

“It’s all for a good cause of course but it won’t be staying as I had breakfast with the chairman on Saturday morning and he hates it so it’s got to come off!”

Blues were forced to survive a few close shaves against Wigan at the weekend as Latics defender had an effort cleared off the line before he also struck the crossbar.

But Brown felt a draw was a fair result.

“We had our moments, we hit the crossbar and we had a penalty shout but so did they so overall a draw was about right,” said the Shrimpers boss.

“Their budget is probably about five times what mine is and they have something like 43 players in their squad.

“We’re seven or eight players down at the moment and I would’ve snapped your hands off if you had offered me seven points from nine at the start of this week.”

The latest share of the spoils kept the Shrimpers eighth in the League One standings, just two points behind the play-off position.

But Brown was a little frustrated not to have created more clear cut chances against Wigan.

“We worked to a gameplan but the only down side was that we didn’t create that great opportunity to have won us the game,” said the 56-year-old.

“There was plenty of quality going in to their box. John White put a couple of crosses in to die for and Kevan Hurst put numerous balls into the box too.

“Jack Payne fired one across as well but maybe we just lacked that little bit of belief.

“We were coming up against a team who won the FA Cup and were in the Premier League a couple of seasons ago but you have to have that belief you can beat them.”