Despite the bargain fee of 175,000 paid for Shawn Goater, Bristol City fans will demand a lot from their Bermudian striker. But if he scores a similiar number of goals to those of the last two Second Division seasons, Goater may just become the hero the City fans are seeking. So says Goater's agent Mark Georgevic who negotiated the Bermudian's transfer from Rotherham to Bristol City last week.

Both the club and the player are anxious to get the partnership off the ground as City, 16 years out of the top flight, begin what they hope will be a climb back to the big time in the next few years.

And if he can match his tally of more than 20 goals over the last couple of seasons then the 26-year-old Bermudian will become one of the biggest bargains in the lower divisions of English football.

"I've spoken to a lot of people and they all consider 175,000 a real bargain,'' said Georgevic. Less than a year ago Bradford City, who succeeded in getting promoted to the First Division last season, offered Rotherham 350,000 for their top striker.

"When you look at Marcus Stewart who has gone from Bristol Rovers to Huddersfield for 1.3 million it is an absolute bargain,'' Georgevic stressed. Stewart was the top scorer in the Second Division with 30 goals.

Goater turned the transfer to Bradford down because he wanted to move to a higher division. With Bristol City, Georgevic has no doubt Goater will achieve that goal.

"Bristol City are a big club that shouldn't be in the Second Division,'' said the agent. "They will be one of the favourites for promotion, particularly now that Shawn has signed.

"For the first time -- and all respect to Rotherham -- Shawn is playing for a team that is very ambitious and wants to get into the First Division, has money to spend, a very ambitious board and a very ambitious manager in Joe Jordan.

"I think Shawn will learn an awful lot from Joe and he will become a much better player than he already is. He is extremely excited.

A number of clubs had shown interest in Goater, with the latest in England being Third Division club Barnet.

"I had an agent who wanted to get him transferred to a Dutch First Division side,'' said Georgevic.

"Two Swiss teams were interested but at the end of the day Shawn came to England, he had an objective in his mind, he wants to succeed in England and I think he will succeed.'' Georgevic says if Goater can score almost 50 goals in two seasons with Rotherham then he can achieve even more with a better team.

"To score 49 goals for a side that has struggled in that division, I think this is the idea platform for him,'' said Georgevic. "I'm confident by the end of the season he will have got his goals and they will be promoted.'' Bristol City has two of the best midfielders in the division in Martin Kuhl and Brian Tinnion (formerly of Derby and Newcastle respectively) and they should create the chances for the goalscorers.

Georgevic first saw Goater play in the 1992 World Cup qualifying while he was working in Bermuda as a lawyer. Soon after returning to England in '93, Georgevic began acting as Goater's legal advisor and then agent.

Along with the derbies in London between Arsenal and Tottenham, and those in Manchester and Sheffield, the Bristol derby between City and Rovers is one of the biggest in England. Sky is planning to show it live in December.

"He's going to get national exposure now,'' Georgevic said.

"A lot will be demanded of him by the Bristol public but I've got every confidence he will succeed. You can see in him a real buzz. It's a new challenge and he's very motivated.''