GEORGE Sykes admits work commitments were the reason behind his unexpected return to Canvey Island.

The striker, who netted 21 goals in the Gulls 2016/17 campaign, signed for National League South outfit Braintree Town at the end of last season.

However, he is now back at the Frost Financial Stadium.

And the 22-year-old is looking to fire Canvey back into the Isthmian Premier League at the first time of asking.

“I had a few weeks at Braintree after making the move but, with my work, it will be too much of a commitment,” said Sykes, who works as a trainee quantity surveyor.

“There is a lot of travelling in that league and for the next year it will be too much for me.

“Leaving Canvey last year was difficult enough, so when I realised it wasn’t going to work at Braintree, I decided to see if they wanted me back.

“It is an option I wanted to take,” he added.

“After I spoke to Braintree about leaving I called (Canvey manager) Dan (Heale) to see if he was open to it.

“I was hoping he would be and thankfully I hadn’t left it too late as he was building his squad.”

Canvey were beaten 4-2 in their latest pre-season friendly, going down to National League South opponents East Thurrock United.

Callum Ibe and a trialist scored Canvey’s goals, with the Gulls impressing in large parts against their more established opponents.

And Sykes said he was impressed at the team Heale had built in his absence, with Ryan Charles enjoying a particularly strong game in central midfield on Tuesday night.

“Danny has added some good guys here and I still know a lot of the players as well,” he said.

“In terms of what we want to achieve, if you come down from any league you want to go straight back up.

“Looking at this squad it looks like we have a strong group.

“I know the league format has changed slightly (two automatic promotion places instead of one) and we want an automatic place, of course.

“There is more of a chance than previous years and I think we should be up there.

“East Thurrock had a lot of the ball on Tuesday night and we conceded some sloppy goals but we will improve in time.

“But with a few more games under our belts, we will be ready to go.”

Canvey continue their pre-season preparations against Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, a professional outfit from Belgium.