Southend manager Paul Sturrock is facing an injury crisis ahead of his team's npower League Two play-off semi-final second leg at home to Crewe on Wednesday night.
A large number of those who played in Saturday's 1-0 first-leg defeat at Gresty Road are fighting to prove their fitness.
Sturrock has had to put fringe players on alert for the Roots Hall match as the Shrimpers look to overturn Adam Dugdale's second-half header from the first leg.
"At this minute in time we're not going to call ourselves Southend United, we're now going to call ourselves emergency ward 10," Sturrock told Blues Player on the club's official website.
"Seventy per cent of the team are up in the treatment room, all niggling knocks and everything else.
"I've told a lot of the players who have not been involved lately to at least put the game in their mind, make sure they appreciate they could be called upon big time.
"It will be right up until Wednesday before we know if a high percentage of our players will be fit or not."
Southend go into the encounter having won their last four games on home soil, scoring 11 goals in the process and not conceding once.
That form will give them hope of reaching the Wembley final on May 27 and a clash against either Cheltenham or Torquay.
But Sturrock is expecting a close-fought battle.
"I think it's going to be a tight affair, I don't envisage either team running away with it," he said.
"It's going to be one of those nail-biting ones right up until the end of the game."
Crewe boss Steve Davis feels the weight of expectation has shifted towards their opponents despite his side taking a narrow advantage down to the Essex coast.
"There will be that little bit more pressure on them now because they are at home and are expected to take the game to us a bit more," Davis told Crewe's official website.
"That was the case with us on Saturday. We were expected to get something to take into the second leg and we managed to do that.
"That was our objective, but we know it won't be easy in the second leg. There is sure to be a few twists and turns.
"It won't be easy for them. Yes, they have the advantage of having their own crowd behind them but we want to frustrate them as much as possible and maybe use that anxiety and apprehension to our advantage.
"We are looking forward to it. We are relaxed about the situation and know what our job is."
Saturday's victory moved Crewe's unbeaten run to 17 matches - their last defeat having come at Roots Hall in February.
Davis added: "If we can extend our unbeaten run by one game then we are through. Then we have to win one more game to get promotion."
