DAVID Mooney won’t rule out a return to Colchester United and says he will never forget the kindness shown to him by the club at the end of the season.

DAVID Mooney won’t rule out a return to Colchester United and says he will never forget the kindness shown to him by the club at the end of the season.

U’s boss John Ward has always said that he would like to get the Irish striker back at the U’s following a successful season-long loan spell from Reading.

The 26-year-old, who finished the 2010/11 campaign as the U’s top goalscorer with 14 in all competitions, is now a free agent having been released by the Championship club.

Reading gave him just four League Cup appearances and loaned him out four times during his three years there.

“I feel completely let down by them but now it’s time to move on,” said Mooney, who is now back in his native Dublin following a family break in Florida.

“Every player wants to test themselves at the highest level and I’m no different. I’d love a chance to prove myself in the Championship so I’ll wait and see what offers come in.”

Mooney was given permission to miss Colchester’s final game of the season against Bristol Rovers after his wife was rushed into hospital to remove gallstones.

“I’ll never forget that,” said Mooney. “Colchester proved themselves as a club with high morals and that’s important to me.

“My young daughter really enjoyed nursery there too so I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Meanwhile, the striker also revealed that he was close to signing for Norwich in 2009. He had just scored three goals in nine appearances on loan as the Canaries were relegated to League One.

“Norwich wanted to make my loan move permanent after my loan spell there but at that time Brendan Rodgers had just come in (at Reading) and he told me that he didn’t want me to go,” said Mooney.

“Then, after a while, he said he didn’t have a role for me in the team and by then the manager had changed at Norwich (Paul Lambert replacing Bryan Gunn following Colchester’s 7-1 win at Carrow Road).”

Instead, Mooney was loaned to Charlton for 2009/10 and spent last season on loan at Colchester.

“I feel like I’ve been moved from Billy to Jack,” said Mooney. “I just want to get settled somewhere with my family now.”

U’s boss John Ward said: “I haven’t done anything with David yet but I will be in contact with him. I like him as a person, we’ll just have to see what his situation is.”

Ward only has two senior strikers in his squad at present in the form of Steven Gillespie and Kayode Odejayi but is currently in talks with two out-of-contract forwards.