Exeter new boy Pat Baldwin believes that the chance to re-join the club will allow him to kick-start his career after an injury-hampered 12 months.
Defender delighted to be back with Grecians
Exeter new boy Pat Baldwin believes that the chance to re-join the club will allow him to kick-start his career after an injury-hampered 12 months.
The former Chelsea trainee played for three different clubs last season, ending his nine-and-a-half-year affiliation with Colchester in January to join Southend before finishing the season at St James' Park.
The 29-year-old managed just two appearances in as many months for the Shrimpers before being loaned out to Exeter, but says he holds no animosity towards his new club's League Two rivals.
"I think that the fact that I went there unfit was a big part of not playing a lot of games for Southend because you need to be playing games to get fit and to be fair to the manager he was trying to get the club promoted," Baldwin told
Sky Sports.
"He needed fully fit players and looking back at it I probably wasn't, but thankfully Exeter came in for me and at that stage I'd played a few games and got back to 100 per cent, so it was just one of those things.
"It didn't quite work out for me, but that is football and you move on."
Options
Baldwin joined on a permanent basis this summer, but revealed that he snubbed several offers from other clubs to return to the Grecians.
He added: "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club last season and was very impressed with the set-up, fans and management here, but it wasn't an easy decision to make because I had other offers that were closer to home.
"There were a lot more pros than cons to join this club than the others and it just felt right to come back to a place where I enjoyed my football."
