John White will bid to help Southend return to the English Football League after signing a new one-year deal.

The 34-year-old defender has continued his affiliation with the club, staying at Roots Hall for a ninth campaign, and his new contract includes a testimonial.

White told the club’s official website: “I’m really pleased that my future has been sorted so quickly and it now allows me to concentrate on being ready for that first day of pre-season.

“Like I said at the end of the season, it would have been very difficult to leave things as they were and the way it ended.

“It’s nice I will have that opportunity to turn things around with the group of players that we will have and the staff that we’ve got.

“We can look to build something really strong which will push us in the right direction, turn the fortunes of the club back around and start building to get back to where we should be.”

Southend, who finished second bottom of League Two, have taken up options on the deals of Jon Benton, Tom Clifford, Terrell Egbri, Rob Howard, Matt Rush, Harry Seaden and O’Shane Stewart.

The club have offered new contracts to Elvis Bwomono, Jason Demetriou, Tim Dieng, Sam Hart, Shaun Hobson, Ricky Holmes and Mark Oxley, but have released Emile Acquah, Brandon Goodship, Harry Kyprianou, Alan McCormack, Jacob Mellis and Richard Taylor.

A club statement said: “We would like to thank all of the departing players for their efforts during their time at the club and wish them the best for the future.”