Football fanatic David Hancock goes the extra mile to see his team play. An extra 3,000 miles, to be precise.

The Southend United supporter jets into Bermuda from the UK tomorrow for what must be the most expensive 90 minutes of his life.

David?s stay on the Island, squeezed in between work commitments, will be limited to just one night.

And he reckons he will be the only Shrimpers fan in the stands to cheer on his side as they take on a Bermuda squad featuring former Southend striking star Shaun Goater.

The Goat helped inspire Southend to a second straight promotion last season, earning the high-flying Essex side a berth in the dizzy heights of the Championship ? just one league below the mighty Premiership.

And David, 42, has dedicated his marathon journey for the fixture to Goater?s outstanding performances, after the national legend rolled back the years and saw out his professional career on a winning streak at Roots Hall.

Asked why he was crossing the Atlantic just to watch a pre-season friendly, David replied: ?It?s the Shaun Goater factor. I just want to thank him for what he did for Southend.

?He played a crucial part in us getting promotion. Nobody expected us to go up last year and we were hoping we could just survive in that league. We thought we would be in the lower leagues for the rest of our lives.?

He said his favourite Goat moment was when the former Manchester City talisman cracked home a goal against Southend?s arch-rivals Colchester United.

Goater said he was delighted David had travelled so far to say thank you.

?It?s very good of him to come,? he told as the 20-man Southend squad arrived at Bermuda International Airport on Tuesday night for a week of pre-season training. ?They were always good fans at Southend.?

If anyone thinks David is really coming to Bermuda just to soak up the sun on Elbow Beach and the whole football theory is just a smoke screen, they only need to take one look at his plane ticket.

For the married father-of-two won?t be catching many rays during his short stay. He lands at 6.20 p.m. tomorrow and plans to leave the following day, touching down in London, via the US, some time on Sunday night.

Even before he boarded the plane to Bermuda, nobody could accuse David of being an armchair supporter.

He has been following his home team of Southend since his school days in 1968, and reckons he has clocked up more than 1,000 fixtures in that period.

David, a consultant in the leisure industry, is a member of the illustrious ?92 club? ? meaning he has visited every league ground in England.

He has also seen his team play on at least 250 different grounds, including trips to Scotland, Ireland and Italy.

But his first trip to Bermuda will easily notch up the most air miles for a single journey. Fellow Southend fans have already cast envious looks at his audacious travel plans.

?A lot of them wish they could go, but the cost is a major factor.?

English ex-pats who emigrated to America could make the journey, but David said this hardly compared with his odyssey.

He continued: ?There are people I know that will be staying in Southend who are absolutely gutted. There are people that pride themselves on not missing a game for ten years. They won?t be here. Nobody I know seems to be going.?

He denies he is a Southend ?obsessive?, stressing that he?s never been tempted to take in a reserve team fixture.

Scintillating soccer, however, is not the driving force behind him criss-crossing England ? and now the globe ? to follow his heroes.

?When you support Southend you do not go for the quality of the football,? stated Dave, who can see the Roots Hall floodlights from his house. ?You go for a day out ? and Friday is going to be a fantastic evening.?

Despite the humid weather, David plans to bring a few Southend scarves with him. That?s not because he fears an unlikely English-style drop in temperatures; he plans to swap them with Bermuda supporters at the National Stadium.

The devoted fan could be left feeling a little cold, however, if he misses a large chunk of a game he has effectively forked out hundreds of pounds to attend.

Friday?s match is scheduled to kick-off at 7.30 p.m. And with David?s plane due to land at 6.20 p.m., he could be cutting it fine if he hopes to make it through Customs and then jump in a taxi and get to the ground in under an hour.

David?s lightening-fast Bermuda visit certainly won?t be going into extra time, however. He admitted his wife wasn?t ?entirely happy? with his mini-vacation.

And he plans to be back at work in London on Monday morning.

There are hundreds of reasons to come to Bermuda.

Here?s five reasons why Bermudians should go to the Essex seaside resort of Southend...

1) At 1.34 miles long, Southend Pier is the world?s longest pleasure pier.

2) Southend is twinned with the Polish resort town of Sopot, the location of the longest wooden pier in Europe.

3) Noted for its seafront attractions, a diesel railway runs the length of Southend?s famous pier. It replaced the original electric service that dated back to 1890.

4) Good news for Customs officials: HM Revenue and Customs are major employers in the coastal town.

5) It?s 40 miles from London.