Lee Barnard may have only been at Southend for little more than a month but he has already made a big impression at Roots Hall. The 23-year-old striker netted the winner for the Shrimpers in his first start for the club since arriving from Tottenham and has now scored four goals in his last five matches. But such prowess in front of goal is nothing new to Barnard – who scored 37 times in 39 matches for Tottenham's reserves – a club he first joined as a ten-year-old. Givemefootball's Mark Shail logged the thoughts of Barnard in the aftermath of last Saturday's 3-0 win at Yeovil – a match in which he scored the opening goal to help Southend climb to seventh place in the League One table.
Q:YOU MUST BE ENJOING LIFE AT ROOTS HALL?
A:The lads made me feel welcome right away and it's gone really well for me so far. There is plenty more to come because I'm not fully fit yet. Now we've got ourselves back in the promotion race and we aim to make the most of it.
Q:WAS IT A BIG DECISION TO LEAVE SPURS?
A:I wasn't getting a look in with the first team so I decided it was best to move on. It was a big decision for me but I wanted to be playing games and when I heard Southend were in for me my mind was made up straight away. Being a local boy makes it even more special and I always felt we had a chance of winning promotion this season.
Q:YOU STARTED AT SPURS AT AN EARLY AGE?
A:Norwich City was actually the first club I went on trial with but when we were waiting for them to come back to me I joined Spurs. I must have been about nine or ten but it was great. I still carried on playing for Perry Street, a Billericay team and I did right up to what must have been U-13s. That's when I had to go full-time with Spurs. I had a great time there and it was really good for me.
Q:AND YOU MADE YOUR FIRST TEAM DEBUT FOR SPURS AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED, DIDN'T YOU?
A:It was fantastic for me, a real dream come true. It remains the highlight of my career and it's something I will ever forget. Being up against the likes of Giggs, Rooney, Ronaldo, Ferdinand and Van Nistelrooy was just amazing and it was a shame we lost 2-1.
Q:YOU WERE ALSO IN THE SQUAD FOR THAT INFAMOUS FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON AGAINST WEST HAM WHEN THE TEAM WAS STRUCK DOWN BY ILLNESS?
A:I'm not sure if it was food poisoning or just a virus but I felt awful and couldn't stop going to the toilet or being sick. I didn't want to say anything because I had a chance of being on the bench. But when I went down for breakfast in the morning I found out that a few of the other boys were suffering as well. We tried to get the match called off but they wouldn't let us. We lost and were gutted because it cost us a Champions League place. It certainly put me off lasagne for a while.
Q:YOU ALSO HAD LOAN SPELLS AT EXETER, STEVENAGE, LEYTON ORIENT, NORTHAMPTON AND CREWE WHILE YOU WERE AT WHITE HART LANE?
A:They were all good for my development and very enjoyable. I was only at Exeter for a month but I was very young and it was good to get first team football. I scored my first senior goal at Stevenage, which was memorable and I felt I did well at Orient too. I did everything but score there and it was the same at Northampton. Thankfully at Crewe I scored a few before getting injured. They are a great club and I hope they can avoid relegation.
