In a converted warehouse on a nondescript Feltham industrial estate, the one-time Premier League hotshot takes a deep breath, focuses his mind and begins the next gruelling set of reps.

This is not your ordinary gym. There's no plasma televisions, fruit smoothies, motivational posters or sympathy here.

Just racks of impossibly heavy weights, some scary-looking straps and harnesses, thick ropes and, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, a sledgehammer.

Carlton Cole, pictured at the CrossFit Ivy gym in Feltham, is looking for his next club and his next challenge in football at the age of 33

Cole enjoyed nine successful years with West Ham, playing in 293 games for the club

The striker was also capped seven times for England during 2009 and 2010

'You've got to be prepared to put yourself on the pain threshold and make the pain threshold go higher,' shouts Carlton Cole as he again wraps his hands around the push-up bar.

At 33, Cole finds himself in search of his next club and next challenge. And as the last 18 months have shown him, being in tip-top shape is just the start of what is required.

Now January has arrived, Cole is eligible to join a team again and, to his relief, the phone has been buzzing.

There has been interest from a Premier League club, a few in the Championship and the inevitable megabucks offer from the Chinese Super League.

'I've had a few phone calls - "do you want to come to this place? Do you want to come to that place?" - but they weren't right for me and my career,' he said. 'Now, I'm not just looking to take any deal, it has to be the right deal for me.'

Cole has been working hard in the gym and on the training field to maintain his fitness levels

Cole, who is hoping to sign for a new club this month, has received offers from the Premier League, Championship and the Chinese Super League

Guided by his personal trainer Josiah Hunte, Cole has been keeping up his fitness

The 33-year-old former England international works out in the gym last week

Cole's career means he retains plenty of appeal. He broke through at Chelsea in his early twenties but made his name at West Ham, for whom he played nearly 300 times and scored 68 goals. He was also capped seven times for England during the Fabio Capello era.

A very good career in anyone's book, but the last chapter has been more testing. Five months after being released by West Ham, he leapt at the opportunity to join Scottish champions Celtic in October 2015.

Understandably, there were dreams of scoring tonnes of goals in the Scottish Premiership and building a nice medal collection, but his body and manager Ronny Deila had other ideas.

'From the get-go, I got injured right away,' he recalls. 'I joined late and was playing catch-up, then I tore my calf and was out for a month.

'I then had to wait another month to get near the team and the manager, I don't know what happened, he just didn't want to play two up front. And Leigh Griffiths was scoring left, right and centre.

Cole played for Celtic for the first half of last season, but didn't feature too regularly

The striker celebrates after scoring for West Ham at Crystal Palace in August 2014

Competing for the ball with Goran Popov of West Bromwich Albion during a match in 2012

'The one time we did play two up front, in a Cup game [away to Stranraer], I scored and I thought I'd play with Leigh the following week. But the next week, we reverted to one up front.

'I went into the manager's office and asked what was going on and he said "I can't take Leigh Griffiths out the team, this system is working well for us." I didn't think it was.

'At home, we were playing one up front when we could have played two and demolished teams. He was playing the safety card. At the end of it, he lost his job because they didn't win everything and he was playing too safe.'

Cole played just five times in eight months for Celtic and was released once again. His next move back in August raised a few eyebrows - Sacramento Republic of the second-tier United Soccer League.

Cole (right) helped guide West Ham back into the Premier League in 2012

Marking a goal against Doncaster in a Championship fixture with Kevin Nolan

Celebrating after scoring for the Irons at Fulham on Boxing Day 2010

The California lifestyle suited him, what happened on the pitch less so.

'You wake up each morning and see palm trees,' Cole smiles. 'They have a different mindset, the beach, the sea, it's right there. Going out in the sun and training every day. I do miss it.

'But when I went to America, they were already in full swing. I went for the last two months of the season as a favour to them. But I wasn't in shape, I was playing catch-up and it is really hard to catch up with those fit players.

'And those boys can run, trust me! They were running rings around me at some points. As soon as I got to the level I wanted to be at, the season finished and I had to come back.

'Sacramento had a lot of good footballers and we won the provisional league. But then we had play-offs, which I didn't really understand, and if you didn't win the play-offs, you didn't win the league.

A low header puts West Ham 2-0 up against Birmingham City at the Boleyn

Cole is surrounded by West Ham fans during the infamous League Cup tie with Millwall

'So it was a bit weird and deflating when we got knocked out in the first round. It was the end of the season and there was nowhere else to go.'

Contracted with Sacramento until this month, all Cole could do was maintain his fitness levels and search for a new club.

He returned to the familiar surroundings of West Ham, training alongside Slaven Bilic's first team until their injury crisis eased and he went to train with the Under 23s.

It's been a tough winter, training indoors most days at the CrossFit Ivy gym in Feltham with his old friend and personal trainer Josiah Hunte, so as to be able to hit the ground running when the right offer comes in.

'Any club that wants to take me for that target man role, I can always do that,' he said.

'I will give my all. I might not give them the whole five years ago Carlton Cole, the England Carlton Cole, but I can give you a good level Carlton Cole who's effective in any team.

The striker gets a hug from manager Gianfranco Zola after a Premier League game in 2009

A young Carlton Cole pictured during his loan at Aston Villa from Chelsea in 2004

On target for England's under 21 side during their European Championship match with Poland at Hillsborough, Sheffield back in 2005

'I've never relied on my pace, I've always relied on my strength and hold-up play and I can do that at any level.

'I want to be involved and help young players as well. There's a lot of young players I can see who need advice and experience, someone to bounce off "what do I do in this situation." If their morale is low, someone to pick them up.

'I know managers always find that useful to have an experienced player, someone who knows what they're doing.'

Cole looks back with satisfaction on his career but is confident he has another three or four years left to offer.

Cole came through the academy ranks at Chelsea, making the first team and celebrating a goal here at Charlton Athletic in August 2002

The young striker scored eight goals in total for the Blues before joining West Ham

'I can't ask for a better career,' he said. 'I could have done better, you can always do better. But to come from where I've come from and to make it at that highest level and to go on and play for your country, it's an amazing feat.

'I've had a great career, it's not over yet. I have a lot to do and I just want to finish it on a high.'

And with that, it's down from the chin-up bar and off to the running track for a round of sprint drills.