Simon Rea is hoping that nearly 200 appearances with Peterborough United and Cambridge United will tempt someone to take a chance on him this summer. Peterborough's owner Barry Fry gave a free transfer the 28-year-old at the end of last season and the Coventry-born centre half is one of many players now searching for a club. It capped a dismal season for Rae who saw Posh relegated to League Two and – despite playing 15 times for United last season – no offer on the table. However, Rea is refusing to be downbeat and adopting a phlegmatic approach as pre-season draws ever nearer. He refuses to be stressed by the situation and, as he told givemefootball's Ian Clarkson, is prepared for all scenarios.
Q:WERE YOU SURPRISED TO BE GIVEN A FREE TRANSFER?
A:Not really. I had been there five years and enjoyed myself but we were overloaded with centre halves at the club and had around six or seven of us. Virtually all of the out of contract players weren't offered new deals as Barry wanted to give the new manager Mark Wright some room to manoeuvre in the transfer market.
Q:WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF YOUR FIVE YEARS AT LONDON ROAD?
A:I had plenty of good times and one or two bad times as well. We won promotion, which I will always remember but we also struggled at other times and last season wasn't one of the better ones to be perfectly honest. As you can imagine with Barry as your manager there was a lot of movement on the playing and coaching staff. I have met a lot of people and made some good friends and I hope this will help me in my quest for a new club.
Q:HOW DID LAST SEASON GO FOR YOU?
A:I had been struggling with my knee and was playing for a month on and off so I had to rest it and then had the chance to go on loan and boost my fitness at Cambridge. I played four games it went well and I went back to Peterborough fully fit and played for them but the season ended and I just ran out of time.
Q:ARE YOU HOPEFUL OF SIGNING FOR ANOTHER CLUB IN THE LEAGUE?
A:I am hoping to pick up a club in the next couple of weeks and I have got my agent ringing around for me. I am hopeful that something will happen before pre-season starts but it is a hard one to call. Because there are so many people in the same situation you are generally on a list with five other players as a potential signing. People will generally look for the cheapest option so we will have to wait and see.
Q:ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE?
A:I am not worrying about what happens because I can't affect it too much. It is inevitable that you are going to finish as a player eventually and if I can keep going for another four or five years at this level then it will be a bonus. If I have to take a change of direction then so be it as it will happen eventually.
Q:HAVE YOU CONSIDERED ANYTHING POST-FOOTBALL?
A:There are plenty of avenues I have considered including coaching, but that market seems pretty saturated already so I am not sure what it will be like in four or five years time. There are a few things you can do, so if the worst-case scenario happens then I will be looking at something with a long-term benefit. There are a lot better and a lot worse players than me who are out of contract so we will have to see what happens, but I have been training hard for the last three weeks since I returned from holiday.
