After scoring the equaliser against Manchester United nine seconds after coming on as a substitute the gaffer told me to put my feet up.

Now I've scored many goals in my career but I have never known one get me as long a break as I was given in my whole life!

I was allowed three days off and the reason it surprised me was because I was only on the Old Trafford pitch for six minutes.

I had spent the previous 84 on the bench after being named substitute and was only brought on when the manager took off Robbie Fowler with us 1-0 down.

After the game the gaffer just said ‘Right, these lads are off' and my name was on the list and I thought ‘I'll take that for six minutes of football'.

Before the game I had been so excited. I recalled the first time I went back to Old Trafford when I wanted to show people I could play against them.

I was a bit nervous as a result but this time around, having played the way I did against them at Maine Road earlier in the season, I said to myself ‘Shaun, you have nothing to worry about'. When I am on my game I am every bit as good as the next striker and I told myself that I belonged there on that stage.

I was probably more excited than those who were starting the match and was really buzzing in the belief I was going to get on.

But as the game wore on I thought ‘We are running out of time here' and all the enthusiasm began to drain out of me. I wondered if the chance had gone.

Little did I know the part I was going to play.

I remember the ball coming across and thinking ‘this is coming right to me'. I wasn't thinking that this was going to be my first touch, I just thought it was a header, get my head on it and hit the target.

I saw it hit the back of the net and thought ‘Yeah, I'll have that. Thank you very much'.

It was only afterwards that I realised just how little time had passed between coming on and scoring the goal. One of the players wondered whether it might have been the quickest goal scored by a substitute and as it turned out it was. I told them afterwards if I had sprinted into the box I could have taken a few more seconds off!

As I have said before I don't pay much attention to the newspapers or the television - in fact I still haven't seen the goal - and so when I returned to our Carrington training ground I had pretty much forgotten about the match.

Consequently, I wasn't really prepared for the reception I got when I arrived on Wednesday.

Fans were asking for my autograph, hugging me, telling me they loved me and one woman even said that she really hoped she was going to have a baby boy because she wanted to name it Shaun after me!

All that from one goal.

If I listened to everything and read all the headlines I really would have trouble getting my head out of the clouds, but I am not one for bragging or believing everything that is written about me. I know what football is like and am aware that at any time you can get slapped upside the head.

Elsewhere at Maine Road in the past week there has been news of a departure and a return in the striking department.

Darren Huckerby has left City to go on loan to Nottingham Forest of the First Division. They are chasing promotion to the Premiership and I know Darren will be a great addition to their side.

Like every player, you want to be playing week in, week out and he has not been able to do that at City recently.

I don't think anyone at the club would doubt that he had the credentials to help push them up and I wish him all the best.

The player set to return, meanwhile, is Paulo Wanchope who yesterday said he hoped to be back in contention for a first team place by next month.

He started his second week of full squad training on Monday after being sidelined since preseason with a knee injury.

I saw him at Carrington on his first day back and he was the best trainer there! Sometimes when you have been out for that long you have that enthusiasm because you feel like you haven't played in years.

Although he's been injured Paulo has still been part of the team, coming to watch the matches and coming in the dressing room at half-time. As a result he is very up to date with what is happening.

Sometimes, in his situation, you can feel that you are not involved and you become almost like a spectator. Although you are still employed by the club you have very little to do with the first team because you are stuck in the gym or you are receiving treatment. The only time you see football is on the TV.

But Paulo has always been around. He's seen the gaffer have a go at the break, make changes and as a result he is tuned in mentally. His mind is fresh and it will make it that much easier for him when he does return to playing.

It will be great to have him back because he is different to anything else we have got. When he gets the ball people never know what he is going to do and he will give us another option as we continue to push for a place in Europe.