Try telling Jack Jeffery there is little left to play for this season.

Eastbourne Borough may have already secured their Blue Square premier status for another year but the West Ham striker is not about to put his feet up and relax.

The 19-year-old has already been told his contract will not be renewed at Upton Park when it runs out this summer and is desperate to find another club.

No wonder, then, he was all smiles after coming off the bench to score twice in the last eight minutes to finally kill off a spirited display from Weymouth.

It was Jeffery’s first goals in eight appearances since arriving at Priory Lane a month ago and he is desperate for more as he tries to secure his future.

Jeffery said: “It was about time I scored because it’s been frustrating for me so far. I haven’t played as many games as I would have liked but I can’t do any more than come on and score.

“This will do me the world of good. I was told I was not being kept on at West Ham before I came on loan at Eastbourne so I know I have got to put myself in the shop window.

“There is a bit of pressure on me as I will need a new club in a couple of months so hopefully I can score a few more goals before the season ends and attract some interest.

“The one thing I have got to improve on is my strike rate so coming off the bench to score twice is great. Now I have got to kick on from here.”

Jeffery has only shown glimspes of the talent which earned him a professional deal at West Ham since arriving at the start of March.

But with Andy Atkin and Sam Gargan sidelined and Allan Tait doubtful for tomorrow’s trip to Altrincham he should now get the chance for a run in the side.

Borough were grateful for the impact he made off the bench, though, on Saturday as Weymouth briefly threatened to end a run of nine consecutive defeats.

The home side had huffed and puffed for the majority of the first half but finally made the breakthrough in injury time in bizarre circumstances.

Weymouth claimed the ball had gone out of play before Paul Armstrong crossed it and that may explain why goalkeeper Adam Legzdins failed to react when Matt Crabb headed goalwards. It seemed a routine save but Legzdins allowed it to hit the post before grabbing it with the linesman flagging to indicate it had already crossed the line.

The fact the visitors had failed to score in eight of their last games suggested that was that but they refused to throw in the towel in the second half and could have grabbed an equaliser.

Nathan Crabb twice wasted good chances to wrap up the points while Matt Smart was also guilty of lacking a killer touch in the box.

The longer it stayed 1-0 the more Weymouth’s belief grew and substitute Fola Onibuje twice headed narrowly off target before Jeffery’s introduction settled matters.

He had been on the pitch less than three minutes when he raced on to Danny Brown’s flick to rifle a shot high into the net and then embarrassed Legzdins by charging down his clearance and rolling the ball into the unguarded goal from the edge of the area.

Jeffery added: “I was disappointed not to start today but all you can do when you are on the bench is take your chance when you come on.

“People may have expected us to win easily but that was never going to be the case. They have had their problems but they have picked up a bit recently and are a fairly decent team.

“They are battling for points and made it difficult for us so it was important that I got that second goal when I did otherwise it could have been a very nervous finish.”

Eastbourne: Hook, Austin, Baker, Pullan, Jenkins, Armstrong, Smart, Brown, M Crabb (Mingle, 88), Tait (Wormull, 70), N Crabb (Jeffery, 79). Subs not used: Harding, Lovett.

Booked: Brown.

Weymouth: Legzdins, Mawer, Critchell, Collins (Hart, 79), Coutts (Onibuje, 65), Browning, Hoyte, Cutler, Merella (Palmer, 79), Gill, Akurang. Subs not used: Evans, Cooke.