FREDDY Eastwood is contemplating quitting football following his release from Southend United.

The 30-year-old striker, who enjoyed two separate spells with the Shrimpers, has not been offered a new deal to remain at Roots Hall.

And he will now spend the next few weeks deciding if he wants to continue playing.

“I’m in no great rush to sign for anyone and I will take the next four to six weeks to think about what I do next and if I want to keep on playing,” said Eastwood.

“I think fitness wise I’m fine to carry on playing so it’s going to come down to whether or not I want to.

“I’m not really interested in going to play for a club miles away because I don’t think I would enjoy that if I’m honest.

“I will wait and see if I get any offers and what comes up but it’s a big decision and one I’m not going to rush in to making.”

Eastwood scored 77 goals in 210 appearances across his two spells with the Shrimpers.

However, his second period was far less prolific than the first and led to boss Phil Brown deciding to release him.

But Eastwood may not have stayed even if he had been handed another deal.

“If I had been given another contract it wouldn’t have been a straight forward decision for me,” said the forward.

“I spoke to the manager about that because I have a great relationship with him and he said there could be something on the table for me with less money.

“It wasn’t really about that though and even if I had been offered the same wages it still would’ve been a tough decision for me.”

Eastwood added he had no hard feeling towards the club or the manager for making the decision.

But he did admit to being disappointed how his career with the Shrimpers had ended.

“I really thought we were good enough to get promotion and that would’ve been the perfect way for me to finish with Southend,” said Eastwood.

“I thought we were very unlucky to lose against Burton and they got a couple of lucky breaks for their goals.

“Southend will always be in my heart now though, the happiest moments of my career were all here and it’s where I enjoyed myself the most.

“The supporters have always been superb towards me too and I really hope the lads can go one better next year and win promotion.”