MARK Rawle insists he remains saddened by the manner of his exit from Southend United.

Rawle, who will be at tomorrow’s game between his two former teams, controversially opted to join Oxford United in 2003 despite having previously agreed to extend his spell with the Shrimpers.

But the 35-year-old is still upset by how his time with Blues came to an end.

“My time with Southend was happiest in my whole career and I never saw myself leaving,” said Rawle who scored 20 goals in 89 games for the Shrimpers.

“However, I ended the 2002/03 season as top goalscorer and when that had happened in previous years the players had been rewarded with an improved deal.

“But Steve Wignall wasn’t prepared to do that for me and offered me exactly the same contract for another year.

“He also told me he was going to sign Drewe Broughton and that he didn’t really see me playing much.

“It was disappointing to hear but I didn’t really have any other options.

“He gave me a deadline and the day before it I did tell him I was going to sign.

“But the following day my agent rang me and told me Oxford were really interested in me.

“They seemed really keen and I reluctantly agreed to go there because I they wanted me more and I thought I would get more games.

“I’m still sad about how it all ended because for a while Southend was my second home.

“We had such a good team spirit and I really did enjoy there.

“It was my first club in the Football League and will always be a special place for me.”

Rawle remains in touch with several of his former Southend team-mates.

But he remains disappointed that the team were not able to secure more success during his time at Roots Hall.

Rawle signed from Boston United in February 2001 for £60,000 but scored just once just once in his first 14 games.

The following season he bagged seven goals to help Blues finish 12th before he hit the back of the net 12 times during the 2002/03 season as Blues came 17th.

However, Rawle believes that Southend side should have finished far higher up the table.

“We had some really good players but we just couldn’t really ever seem to get it together,” said the former forward.

“If you go through that team we Darryl Flahavan, Leon Cort, Kevin Maher, Phil Whelan, Damon Searle, Carl Hutchings and some other really good players.

“A lot of us were really young and maybe we just never had that focus at the same time.”

As a result, Rawle also worked for three different managers during his two and half years with the club.

David Webb, Rob Newman and Steve Wignall all spent time in charge of the Shrimpers during Rawle’s time in Essex.

But he now views them all very differently.

“For me David Webb was the main man and he’s still gaffer for me now,” said Rawle.

“It was him who signed me and I really enjoyed working with him. I was really sad when he had to step down because of his health and it was a transitional stage when Rob took charge.

“He was replaced by Steve Wignall and I don’t really have anything good to say about him to be honest.”

Rawle therefore decided to cut short his spell with Wignall but his decision has often seen him receive stick from Southend’s supporters.

However, Rawle fully understands their view point.

“Fans are hugely passionate towards their club, especially at Southend, so I can see from their point of view why they have always given me all sorts of abuse,” said Rawle.

“I don’t take it personally and it hasn’t change the way I feel towards Southend.

“In fact the biggest regret I have in my career is that I never got to play at Roots Hall just one more time before retiring.

“It’s a special ground and I just loved the vibe around the place. The pitch was always good and I really enjoyed playing on it.”

Rawle was forced to retire from football due to an ankle injury he sustained four years ago.

But he now enjoys working away from sport in his role at Leicester City Council.

“I work with youth offenders in Leicester and it’s a job I really like doing,” said Rawle.

“It’s something quite different and rewarding but of course I still follow football closely, especially Southend.

“And I would love to see them get promotion this season.”