Shaun Goater?s got his number nine shirt yesterday and is ready to play one more year of professional soccer ? although not just yet.

The veteran striker signed on the dotted line with Southend yesterday after passing a medical at Roots Hall but revealed he may not play ?for two or three weeks? because of a calf injury picked up in a pre-season game with Reading.

The former Man City talisman picked up the strain in his first pre-season outing with the Royals against Staines, limping off with the same calf problem that bothered him the previous year.

?I had two or three weeks of hard running in pre-season with Reading and then in the first game I pulled my calf,? Goater told yesterday, immediately after returning home from his medical, official signing and photocall.

?It is frustrating but the guys at Southend understood. I will go down there for re-hab and hopefully I can get going again soon.

?At the moment my only goal for the season is to get fit ? then we?ll take it from there.?

Goater, who has scored 249 goals in 521 games in his time for the UK with Rotherham, Notts County, Bristol City, Man City, Reading and Coventry, said Shrimpers boss Steve Tilson had played a large role in keeping the deal alive, after the 35-year-old turned down the League One club earlier last month.

?A few sides came in for me when Steve showed an interested and I turned them and Southend down straight away,? he told the club?s website.

?My thinking was that I was looking to retire ? I was frustrated with everything at Reading and I turned a whole lot of sides down not just the Blues.

?But Steve said to me that as long as I feel okay in myself to play and that my body is fine then don?t let what happened at Reading cloud your judgement.?

Tilson?s wise words seem to work and Goater seems to have regained all his enthusiasm for the game.

?The thing I love about this club is the buzz around the place and the feeling that it is going in the right direction,? he gushed.

?The feeling I have here is good and a lot different to any other club. My agent told me that the gaffer had been chasing me for three weeks and I thought if they want me that much I don?t need to listen to anyone else.

?One of the major reasons that I wanted to carry on playing was because at Reading I didn?t get to play much ? it left a sour taste in my mouth but I now want to give it my all in this final season to go out on a high note.

?The gaffer said that he thinks my experience can help some of the players and my general game will be beneficial to the team. He sounded very positive about everything.?

Tilson, a former player over two spells at Roots Hall who is just four years older than The Goat, said yesterday: ?He?s experienced and his record speaks for itself. We?ve been in talks for a while and I?m pleased he?s decided to come.?

Goater will watch the team?s home opener against Port Vale on Saturday ? the side?s first game in League One after promotion via the play-offs last time out ? bit will miss trips to Bradford and Walsall over the following weeks.

And his first task when he does get fit enough to join young talent Freddy Eastwood in attack for the Shrimpers will be to reach another goalscoring milestone ? his 250th career goal.

?I sort of forgot about it at Reading because I knew I was never going to play again,? continued Goater who seemed delighted with yesterday?s signing ? ?I was happy on the drive there and I was happy on the drive back?.

?But it is something that is important to me. Reaching milestones is always nice and I am looking forward to scoring this season because I know it will be my 250th goal, but it will also be my first for this new club.

?I am very happy to be around such an ambitious, vibrant team and I think this is going to prove to be the right decision coming here.

?I haven?t seen Freddy play yet, but I have heard good things about him and it will be good to play with some young blood up front, hopefully my experience will rub off on him and his enthusiasm will rub off on me.?

Although Goater was close to retirement before Southend swooped for him, when asked whether this was categorically his final season as a pro, he gave a typically canny answer.

?You can never say never,? he said, while comparing his flirtations with retirement to Alan Shearer?s protracted saga.

?Let?s see how this season goes and then I will talk to my family again. But you can never rule anything out.?