DAN Mooney jumped at the chance to join Southend United, due to the size of the club.

Mooney opted to swap Altrincham for the Shrimpers earlier this summer.

And, when asked what led to his decision, Mooney immediately referenced wanting to play on the biggest stage possible.

“It was because of the size of the club and where it should be,” said Mooney.

“If you said Southend to anyone involved in football they would look at it as a League One or League Two club.

“There are 5,000 6,000 fans onwards watching the games and you want to play on the biggest stage you can so that’s why I came here.”

Mooney bagged 13 goals for Altrincham last season but is now firmly focused on the Shrimpers and has enjoyed the first few days with his new club.

“It’s been good settling in and getting to know the lads,” said Mooney.

“They’ve been sound and proper welcoming.

“We’ve been getting the running in but also some ball work to be ready to go for the season and it’s been good so far.”

Shrimpers boss Kevin Maher has looked to vary things up during pre-season.

And that saw the squad training on the beach earlier this week.

“It was very different but it was good to see where we’re all at as a team,” said Mooney.

“We worked together and got each other through it rather than it just being about who could run the furthest.

“It was good but also bad if that makes sense!”

Blues will step up their preparations with their first pre-season match on Saturday as they head to Southern League Premier South Kings Langley.

And Mooney is looking forward to the warm up games getting underway.

“You always want to get the matches going because you don’t want to be running for too long,” said the winger.

“You want the matches to come quickly so you can get a feel of the ball again and build up your minutes.”

Mooney will look to start on Saturday where that quest is concerned and already feels settled off the pitch.

“The club helped a lot with helping me find somewhere to live,” said Mooney.

“I’ve got an apartment in Southend and I’ve moved in quite quickly which is good.

“I didn’t want to be leaving it too long.

“The club were brilliant and the lads have been helping me too so it’s all good.

“I like it here and I’m not used to being so close to a beach!

“I’m more used to being near a big city but the weather is good too.

“I don’t think it’s rained since I’ve been here so I can’t complain.”

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