New Southend United boss Sol Campbell admits he's unhappy with the squad's fitness.

The Arsenal legend has just taken charge of Roots Hall.

He told the Mirror, “I don't want to be pigeon-holed as a firefighter. I had a couple of interviews in the summer, at clubs whose natural habitat was mid-table, but this job was like a ­boomerang: It went away, and then it came back again.

“Hopefully what we did at Macclesfield last season will stand me in good stead. The ­facilities weren't ­Premier League ­standard – never mind a different planet, they were different ­galaxy – but we got stuck in together.

“It wasn't plain sailing, and when you are bottom of the table for such a long time the luck doesn't often fall your way, so we had to make our own luck.

“Every case is different, but what I want to do first and foremost at Southend is to get the players up to speed.

“We all like a party but when that ­becomes the main feature of your lifestyle as a footballer, I haven't got time for that. I don't know what happened in pre-season but they are not up to speed and they are not giving a true account of themselves."