When Shaun Goater hung up his football boots after nearly two decades of goalscoring exploits he hardly imagined he would still be leading the line a year on.

But as a founding father of the Bermuda Hogges, Goater has had to adopt the role of parental guide while the team takes its first cautious steps in the USL Division 2.

The former Manchester City striker is becoming an increasingly prominent on-field figure, marking his first start of the season with a trademark header against Harrisburg City Islanders at the weekend.

And while the 37-year-old is eager to point out he primarily envisages his role in the franchise as a coach, he admits to having enjoyed his unforeseen career extension and concedes, “old habits die hard”.

“When I finished my career at Southend I never thought I’d be dusting off the cobwebs and leading the line a year later,” said Goater. “I never dreamed I would still be playing and I suppose it’s been a bit of shock, but an enjoyable one nevertheless.

“To be honest I fought against the idea of playing for the Hogges because the whole idea of this programme is to give young Bermudian footballers a springboard to a higher level.

“The players have commented on how tough it’s been so far and it’s good that they are being challenged. I have told them just imagine how tough it is when your playing against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.”

The striker’s appearance in a green and red jersey has been determined by the Hogges indifferent start to league life.

And as president of the team he never imagined he would have been used so extensively, having appeared in all five of their fixtures so far.

But the ex-North Village and Boulevard man insists he is happy to fulfill the role of ‘elder statesman’ if it helps the Hogges evolution into a solid footballing franchise.

“When a child learns to ride a bike sometimes they need a little help and if they fall off they will get bruises.

“The idea was for me to be introduced as a substitute when we were chasing a game, but against Harisburg City Islanders we experimented with me starting and to a certain extent it paid off as we were winning at half-time.

“Disappointingly, we were guilty of na|0xef|ve defending and that proved costly — but we will learn.”

During his distinguished career Goater scored over 200 league goals for a number of English clubs and says the pleasure he experiences when he hits “the onion bag” is still as powerful as ever.

“I still enjoy scoring — you never lose that as a striker,” he added. “It doesn’t matter whether you are 17 of 37 that feeling is still the same.”