English-based striker Stern John will definitely be wearing a different club shirt next season after ending his loan spell with Championship Division club Bristol City this week. John, who has been in England since 1999, is now a free agent and is likely to tie up a new deal before the start of the new season.
“My loan deal with Bristol is over and my contract with Southampton is also up so I’m a free agent now,” John told TTFF Media.
“I’m a free agent since January and I can afford to sign elsewhere when I want but I’ve left it up to my agent and we’ll see how things go from there.
“I’d like to play at least one more season in England. But then I will like to come back to the MLS. That’s where it all started for me and hopefully I can get the chance to finish it there. We’ll see because football can be a strange game so you never know what can happen. I’ll make my decision when the time is right.”
John added that with his history in the MLS, he would look into the possibility of setting up a coaching school in the US.
“That is definitely one of my dreams… to go back to Columbus and do well. My game is pretty good there and it’s left to be seen if I can go there and start a soccer school. Time will tell I guess,” the 32-year-old John said.
“You can expect me playing for as long as possible because football is my life. I want to keep playing until I’m 39 or 40 like Russell and those guys,” John added before mixing his words a bit comically.
“I think I still have a lot to offer as a player especially for Trinidad and Tobago even though they may not want me,” he laughed.
“Hopefully I can continue working hard, stay fit and everything else will fall into place.
John said while the current 2010 campaign has not been easy by any means for the “Soca Warriors” they can still pick themselves up and move forward to South Africa.
“For me personally it wasn’t the easiest thing missing a penalty in El Salvador and ending up giving up two points. But it’s part of the game. A lot of people have short memory. As a player you are only judged by your last game and you are only as good as your last game. It’s just a matter of time before the goals start coming in.”
He believes T&T has what it takes to get the required results starting from the next clash against Costa Rica at the Dwight Yorke Stadium on June 6.
“We have enough good players in this team to win games. But we have to take our chances when they come. As long as we do that then I think we will be fine. It’s important that we get a good result against Costa Rica. We need to give Russell the fullest support as players and work together to try and get the results that will take us to South Africa. I think we are still very capable of achieving that, “ John said.