Kevin Rapley has revealed that the lure of playing football in a higher division made him turn his back on Third Division Southend United.

The 21-year-old striker was expected to join the Blues for £50,000 from Brentford last week after hitting four goals in nine games during a successful three-month loan spell at Roots Hall.

However, Rapley stunned Southend chiefs by snubbing the Shrimpers in favour of a last-gasp move to Second Division strugglers Notts County.

"It was a very hard decision to quit Southend because the players and supporters there are a different class," Rapley explained.

"But once I'd spoken to Notts County boss Sam Allardyce and had a look around their impressive stadium at Meadow Lane my mind was made up to join their battle for Second Division survival."

Rapley initially joined the Magpies on a month's loan and enjoyed a baptism of fire by netting the winner for his new side in a 1-0 victory at Luton Town.

Following his match-winning performance Allardyce moved quickly to secure Rapley's services permanently, rewarding the diminutive forward with a two-and-a-half-year contract.

"I wouldn't say that County are a bigger club than Southend, but I want to play at the highest level possible and they have given me the chance to jump above the Third Division," added Rapley.

However, the forward admitted that he could easily be playing against Southend next season if the relegation-haunted Magpies lose their fight to beat the drop into the Football League basement.

He said: "We could still go down, but we have a lot of games to play and I'm sure I can score the goals to keep us out of the relegation zone. "However, if we did go down I'm sure it would only be a temporary setback because we have the financial resources to bounce straight back."

Rapley said that the uncertainty surrounding Southend boss Alvin Martin's future at Roots Hall also played a big part in his decision to move north.

"I've got nothing but the utmost respect for Alvin and his assistant Mick Gooding, but I didn't want to sign for them knowing they might not be in charge in a few weeks' time," he revealed.

"I couldn't take the risk of being in the same position I was in at Brentford, where a change of management had left me out in the cold and desperate to get away."

However, Rapley did have a few words of praise for Southend's supporters who had warmed to his goalscoring talents.

"My last game for Southend will always live on in my memory. I scored in a 3-0 Roots Hall win over Brighton and all the fans were singing my name," he said.

"It was the most satisfying moment of my career so far because I knew that I had won over every one of Southend's fans, which I will never forget." Rochdale fixture postponed

Southend United's midweek Third Division trip to Rochdale on Tuesday evening has become the latest victim of the Lancashire club's fixture build-up.

Rochdale have been given the go-ahead to play their long overdue Auto Windscreens Shield northern semi-final against Wigan Athletic on Monday, which has led to Blues' match being postponed.

A spokesman for Rochdale said: "We've got a heavy backlog of fixtures to get through at Spotland and the Southend game has unfortunately become another victim of these circumstances.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused and will try and rearrange the match as soon as possible."

However, how soon the game can be played is unclear as Rochdale try and work around a hectic schedule.

They are still trying to find a date for a home clash with Cambridge United which was called off last November.

The situation could get even worse if they beat Wigan as Rochdale will be involved in a two-legged midweek northern area final against Wrexham. The two matches are pencilled in for Tuesday, 16 and 23 March.

Kevin Rapley - wanted to play at a higher level than Division Three

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