Freddie ready for Selhurst return

FREDDIE Sears admits he will find it hard running out at Selhurst Park on Saturday in the sky blue of Coventry.

The young striker only left Palace at the start of the year after having his season long loan deal cut short by parent club West Ham. The Londoner failed to make the impact at Palace that he had hoped for, but still grew very fond of the Eagles during his stay.

Indeed had it not been for the club's administration he was hoping to return to finish his loan spell and finally break the goal scoring drought that plagued his time at SE25.

"I went back to West Ham because they were short of forwards, played a couple of games but then the new owners came in and they bought Benni McCarthy, Mido and Elan," explained Sears. "So they decided to send me out on loan again and I was hoping to come back to Palace. I really enjoyed my time at the club and made some really good mates there.

"But obviously because of the money side of things that wasn't possible. So I ended up coming up to Coventry instead."

Sears said he was sad to see the Eagles drop from promotion candidates to fighting off relegation but is confident that his old team will get to safety.

"Neil Warnock is the right man for the job and he has kept things going really well, as he does," he said. "It's going to be strange lining up against some of the boys. I'm looking forward to coming back and seeing a few of the same faces but when the whistle blows I'll be doing my best for my team and that's Coventry now."

*For the full interview with Sears and seven pages of Palace coverage see this week's Croydon Advertiser, in the shops tomorrow.