Shawn Goater recently turned down a move to fellow Second Division team Bradford City, with the clubs close to agreeing a fee of 300,000 for the Bermudian striker.

However, the 25-year-old is confident the right move will soon come along, especially with interest also being shown by Premier League team Wimbledon, whom The Royal Gazette reported in the Summer were on Goater's trail, as well as a team from Holland.

The offer from the unnamed Dutch club five weeks ago really piqued Goater's interest, especially with the knowledge that Dutch soccer is shown regularly on Bermuda television.

There has also been some interest shown in the last few days by struggling Wimbledon, interest which was broadcast on England's TV teletext service which carries daily soccer bulletins.

With Goater's contract expiring at the end of the season, Rotherham know it could be difficult to hang onto their most prized asset.

"I feel with the way things are going the club will want to offload me because after the transfer deadline in March I will become a free agent and be able to talk to clubs,'' said Goater yesterday.

"As long as I'm under contract they will get as much for me as they can, but if I don't sign (new contract) they won't get as much for me.

"Whether they offer something to me next month or next week I wouldn't sign anyway. I would say `let me wait until the end of the season when I can negotiate a contract on what I've produced rather than how it is now'.

"I feel I can negotiate a better deal if I have scored 30 goals rather than if I have scored 15.'' Goater is the joint top scorer in the division with 15 league and cup goals.

He has set himself a target of 30 for the season, and was hoping to have half of that by the end of December, something which has already been accomplished.

"My belief is I'm going to score 30,'' Goater said confidently. Teams are apparently starting to take notice, too, and Goater is just waiting for the right offer from a Premier or First Division team.

"Prior to last season I used to score in squirts, three now and miss three or four games and then score and then miss for two or three games,'' added the striker.

"But that's something I've made myself more aware of, to score more consistently and as it happened last season although I scored 25 goals I didn't score one hat-trick.

"And this season although I've scored 15 I haven't scored a hat-trick either.

So far it's worked out for me and this is the sort of standard I have to set.'' Last season Kyle Lightbourne's team, Walsall, were also apparently interested in Goater but he turned down the move because the team was then in a lower division than his own. The fact that Bradford -- though they pay better wages -- are in the same division was also one of the deciding factors in Goater's decision not to leave Rotherham.

"I'm just happy that things are working out where there is interest,'' said Goater.

"With the Bradford situation I actually turned them down to have talks. The clubs had come very close to agreeing a fee of 300,000. The boss came over to my house to talk to me and I told him I didn't wish to make a move sideways. I wish to make a move up and if I carry on the way I'm going I feel it's inevitable that it will happen.

"I've been in this division for five years and I feel I have the ability to play at a higher level.'' Unlike the interest from Wimbledon in the summer which never materialised into a firm offer, Goater now thinks their interest might be more than just a rumour as their latest interest was also carried on teletext which mentioned Bradford's approach.

"On the same teletext they had said `the deal between Rotherham United's Shawn Goater and Bradford fell through although they made a bid of 300,000'.'' "Two days later it said about Wimbledon being interested so while it was true about the deal not going through, who knows how true it is about Wimbledon.

"I feel there is some decent football being played in the First Division, but I would love to go straight into the Premier League.'' Goater was involved in his biggest defeat as a professional on Saturday when his team went down 7-0 away to Welsh club Wrexham. They trailed 3-0 at the half and were hit by a further four goals in the second half. In the end they couldn't wait for the referee's final whistle, though there were some harsh words from manager Archie Gemmill afterwards.

"I can't even remember a defeat like that in high school,'' said Goater. "We were as bad as the scoreline suggests. Mistakes you might get away with on another day we weren't able to get away with. Things like defenders not covering and our goalkeeper being caught in no-man's land.'' Goater had an early chance with the score still 0-0 when he stretched out a boot and failed to connect with a cross.

Goater did not train yesterday because of a knock he took to the side of his leg on Saturday but he expects to be fit for Saturday's home game against Bristol City.

Lightbourne's Walsall moved up alongside Rotherham in the table on Saturday after an impressive 3-0 win at Brighton, although the Bermudian failed to get on the scoresheet. Brighton manager Liam Brady resigned following the latest in a string of disappointing results.

SHAWN GOATER -- turned down a 300,000 offer from fellow Second Division club, Bradford City.