Former Southend United striker Daniel Webb today launched a scathing attack on Blues boss Rob Newman.

The 19-year-old hitman left the Seasiders just before Christmas, joining Division Three rivals Hull City on a free transfer.

And the young gun -- who was originally lured to Southend by his father, ex-Shrimpers manager David --turned up the heat ahead of his first return to Roots Hall on Saturday by lashing out at Newman.

"Things got very difficult for me when my dad left the club and Rob took over," said Webb junior.

"I had been on loan at Brighton for the second-half of last season, but a permanent move there broke down, and I returned to Roots Hall during the summer.

"If I'm honest, I was very disappointed that things didn't work out for me at Brighton as it is a great club and a brilliant place to live.

"But Southend has always been like home to me and I was happy to come back for pre-season training and start again. It was like a clean slate.

"I believed I had worked hard during the summer with the rest of the Southend lads, but it was obvious I wasn't in the manager's thoughts as I hardly featured during the friendly matches."

Webb joined both Peterborough and Gilling-ham on trial in an attempt to find a new club, before joining First Division strugglers Brighton on loan for a second time, making three appearances for Steve Coppell's side.

But he was handed a path out of the Roots Hall wilderness by former Shrimpers manager Peter Taylor in December, who had initially taken Webb to Brighton and was now at Hull.

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Published Thursday, January 30, 2003

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