FREDDY Eastwood has revealed how his second spell at Southend United was hindered by a troublesome knee injury.

The striker returned to Roots Hall in 2012.

But he was unable to replicate the form he found first time around.

“My second spell at Southend was different to the first,” said Eastwood.

“I was obviously very young and eager when I first went there and when I came back I was quite a bit older.

“I enjoyed the training and the games but being honest my knee wasn’t great.

“I could only train so much but I enjoyed it and met some really good people at the club again.

“I got on really well with Michael Timlin and Kevan Hurst so I made some good mates.

Eastwood scored 12 times during his second spell with the Shrimpers.

But, during his first stint, the striker became one of the hottest properties outside of the Premier League.

Eastwood netted 65 goals in 135 games before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £1.5 million switch in 2007.

However, he was unable to continue his free-scoring form away from Roots Hall and spent just one season at Molyneux.

“At Wolves there was a lot of competition for places,” said Eastwood.

“We had two teams worth of players really and I didn’t really score enough goals if I’m honest about it.

“I was in and out but there was no-one there at that point who was particularly prolific.

“There were five or six strikers but I was doing really well with Wales at that time.

“Every time I was going away with them I seemed to score but it was difficult when I came back to Wolves to be on the bench. “

Eastwood scored just four goals for Wolves but he became a fans favourite while in the West Midlands.

However, Eastwood felt that did not work in his favour.

“The fans seemed to love me at Wolves,” said Eastwood.

“They cheered my name to try and get me on but that seemed to cause some friction with the fans and Mick McCarthy.

“I actually always got on well with Mick but I think he thought the fans were almost telling him what to do and I don’t think he liked that.

“When I came on I could change a game and with Wolves I would drop a bit deeper to play as a 10.

“I was getting on the ball more and creating chances which is why I think I had a good relationship with the fans because they liked my style of play.”

However, Eastwood moved on after just one season and signed for Coventry City where he also found it hard to make much of an impact.

“I really enjoyed it at Coventry but I had three or four different managers there,” said Eastwood.

“The first one was the Wales boss Chris Coleman and Aidy Boothroyd came in after him.

“I got on really well with him and he got me a lot fitter but at the time we had Marlon King there and the manager liked to play with a lone striker.

“Marlon was with the manager at Watford and they had done really well together.

“I would only really play when Marlon was red carded or injured but Marlon was always going to be the first choice for Aidy Boothroyd because they had worked together before.

“Marlon did well and got 14 or 15 goals in the Championship but it just made it a bit stop start for me.”

Eastwood returned to Roots Hall in 2012 but, upon leaving two years later, he opted to hang up his boots.

“Retirement was forced upon me really,” said Eastwood.

“I was only quite young when I stopped playing but I wanted to have a life when I stopped playing as well.

“If I had had a third operation on my knee I think it would have caused me a lot of problems with regards to trying to have a normal life.

“I can still do a little bit of training now without too much trouble.”

And Eastwood also runs his own building company.

“I’ve got my own company,” said Eastwood.

“I dabble with a few bits but I’ve always been into property developing so that’s what I’m doing now and it’s something I enjoy.”