SOUTHEND United striker Simon Cox is already targeting another landmark - just days after hitting the back of the net for the 100th time in his career.

Cox’s injury time winner against Rochdale at Roots Hall saw the 29-year-old reach three figures in front of goal.

But, despite remaining incredibly proud of the achievement, the forward is already seeking more and is now keen to add at least another 50 before hanging up his boots.

“It was a fantastic feeling to get to 100 but now I want to try and get to 150 if I can,” said Cox.

“A few days after scoring my 100th I was looking online at how many people had got to 100 goals in their careers and when you consider how many people have played the game it’s not that many.

“It means a lot to me to have done it but I feel good and I want to keep on scoring.

“I want to get as many as I can before the end of the season and then I want to try and get to 150.

“I’m still in my twenties so I have a few years left and it’s certainly something I’ll be aiming for before I retire because even fewer players have reached 150 goals.

“But as I’ll always say I’m more concerned about helping the team get good results than scoring goals and that’s why I enjoyed the 100th goal so much because it won us the game.”

Echo:

Prolific spell - Simon Cox at Swindon Town

Cox completed his century almost 10 years after netting the first senior goal of his career while on loan at Northampton Town.

However, up until that point, it was undecided what position Cox would end up playing.

“I was at Reading from nine years old and went all the way through but I played in midfield as much as I did as a forward,” said Cox.

“I always preferred going forward to getting the ball off the back four but I actually had a loan spell at Brentford as a midfielder and it was not until I went to Northampton that I really ended up being a striker.”

“It was a good loan spell for me, I scored three goals in six games and remember being really annoyed that the season ended because I was just getting started.”

But, following his short stint with the Cobblers, Cox knew he would need to leave Reading to sample regular first team football.

And he ended up joining Swindon Town where he shot to prominence with an incredibly successful spell in front of goal.

“I scored against Brentford in my second game for Swindon and it all just carried on from there really,” said Cox.

“As a Reading boy it was hard to leave but they were flying.

Echo:

Celebrating - Simon Cox scoring for Nottingham Forest against Leicester City in 2012

“They got a record 106 points to win the Championship and I wasn’t going to play in the Premier League so I had to move on.

“Swindon was great for me, I scored a lot of goals and really enjoyed my time there.”

Cox’s 32 goals during the 2008/09 alerted a trio of top clubs with West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle and Celtic all keen on securing his services.

But the striker eventually joined West Brom for £1.5million and helped the Baggies win promotion to the Premier League.

“It was hard to start with, I was nervous and coming in from League One I was in awe in some of the players there,” said Cox.

“We went up and although I don’t have regrets I do look back at that time and wish I had worked a bit harder, “I could have put more pressure on the manager to pick me but I was 23 or 24 at the time and I was enjoying living in a new area.

“I enjoyed it and it was a fantastic feeling to play in the Premier League.

“But when I got back from the European Championships with Ireland the manager Steve Clarke told me he was signing Romelu Lukaku and there wasn’t going to be the game time for me.

“Once you hear that you have to move on and that’s exactly what I did.”

As a result, Cox was snapped up by Nottingham Forest for £2million in the summer of 2012.

Echo:

Ton-up - Cox celebrates the 100th goal of his career

However, the striker still remains frustrated not to have achieved more while at the County Ground.

“I still think we were unlucky,” said Cox.

“I don’t think we got what we deserved while I was there and that remains a frustration.

“Personally, I had a really good start for five or six months and scored some memorable goals.

“But after that I probably didn’t get the number of goals I should have done.

“I was there for a couple years but, in the end, it was similar to what happened at West Brom.

“I went away with Ireland but when I came back the manager Stuart Pearce told me he was signing Michail Antonio and wanted me to move to Sheffield Wednesday in exchange.

“It was a shame because it was a nice club and I met some lovely people but the decision to leave was made for me.

“I didn’t want to move even further north though and in the end my representatives got me a move back to Reading.”

The switch, which happened in the summer of 2014, saw Cox’s career go full circle as he returned to his hometown club.

And he was delighted to finally figure on a regular basis for the Royals.

“Reading are my home-town club and I grew up wanting to play for them so it was great to achieve that aim,” said Cox.

“I made a handful of appearances for them at the start of my career but played far more regularly second time around which meant a lot.

“I had some good moments and scored some goals but ended up not playing as much as I would like in the second season.”

That led to Cox having a short spell on loan at Bristol City before making the decision to team up with the Shrimpers at the start of the current campaign.

“I was frozen out a bit and when you’re not playing you do end up thinking what’s the point,” said Cox.

“But I’m enjoying my football again now. I’ve scored five in five and there’s a lot more to come.”