Peter Taylor described his decision to snub a return to management with Southend United in favour of seaside rivals Brighton as "one of the toughest of my life."

The 48-year-old, who still lives in Thorpe Bay, was offered the chance to take over the Roots Hall hot-seat with the Third Division Shrimpers for a second time.

But the ex-England under-21 boss opted for a three-year contract with the Second Division Seagulls instead.

And Taylor said: "It was a very hard decision for me to make, probably one of the toughest of my life, as I was torn between the two clubs. Find out more about Southend United FC "When I lost my job at Leicester City a couple of weeks ago I promised myself that I was going to take two weeks out to assess my options.

"Going back to Roots Hall was certainly one of those options and it was very tempting as they are my home town club and it would have been an easy move for my family.

"I was also very impressed with Blues' owner Ron Martin. He has great plans for the future of Southend United and I would have had no hesitancy in joining him and the club again.

"But after weighing everything up I decided to join Brighton for footballing reasons and crowd potential. "Brighton are going very well in the Second Division at the moment, have a great following, and it is a huge challenge for me."

And Southend supremo Martin admitted he was disappointed not to get this man. Peter was our first choice and I thought he would work very well with our current caretaker boss Rob Newman," he said.

"I thought they would make a great team together, with Peter utilising his unquestionable coaching skills alongside Rob's powers of motivation.

"I came very close to agreeing a deal with Peter following detailed negotiations, which included the discussion of personal terms.

"But Brighton are flying high in the Second Division at the moment and I can understand why he wants to go there. I am disappointed, but I wish Peter the best of luck."

Stand-in manager Newman is now the overwhelming choice to succeed David Webb as Southend's next manager.

And Martin said yesterday (Thursday): "I have great confidence in Rob, but all I can confirm is that he will be in charge of the team again at York City on Saturday.

"I will be meeting Rob today, but I need to speak to the board before any decision can be made regarding a managerial appointment - which I hope will be early next week."

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