Shaun Goater would deny he has . . . but there are few who would deny the Bermudian striker a wry smile following Kevin Keegan's broadside at the man who effectively ended his time at Manchester City.

The City boss yesterday took aim at Robbie Fowler, the former England frontman who was drafted in from Leeds United for around ?6-million and ultimately forced Goater out of the door.

Fowler has only scored twice in 19 appearances since moving to City in January and has been on the bench in the last two games. Keegan clearly believes it is time he produced and yesterday went on the offensive on the eve of the club's UEFA Cup tie against Belgian side Lokeren.

"The time has come for Robbie to show what he can do," said the boss. "I have defended him in the past because there was a reason to. When he came here, he hadn't played for a long time and he had just come back from a major injury.

"We know what he can do, and if he does it, we all know he is world class. He has an opportunity to show that against Lokeren."

Fowler, who scored 30 goals or more in three different seasons with Liverpool, was a regular in the England squad before his loss of form.

Speaking yesterday, Goater, who joined First Division Reading in the summer, said he was surprised that Keegan had dropped the player.

"I am surprised," he said. "I truly thought he would still be playing him and would be saying `Wait til it comes right' or `comes good'."

It was in the belief that Keegan had blind faith in Fowler that Goater decided to cut his ties with the Blues.

"That was one of the reasons why I decided to move on," he said. "I wasn't getting a game and even when players weren't performing I was still being left on the bench."

Goater described Keegan's signing of Fowler as "a gamble" but felt he could still recapture the form that led to him gracing the international stage.

"Initially, I thought it was a gamble in that he hadn't played regularly for some time," he said. "There was also the risk that he would not reproduce that form. But certainly he has the capability and maybe now with Keegan saying `get your finger out and start producing what you're about' that might be the thing that inspires him."

If not, Goater believes Fowler could pay the price and find himself pushed out in favour of the Islander's friend and former striker partner, fit-again Paulo Wanchope.

"Paulo is in and the feeling I got, having been back and watched a game, was that the fans are really behind him," said Goater. "Now that he has got his first goal (against Fulham last Saturday) I think a lot of good stuff will come from him.

"In the game of football the public dictates a lot. The Man City crowd are very passionate and they do dictate. I think he (Keegan) sensed a bit that they were getting impatient with Robbie Fowler and so I think he decided that rather than wait for him to get a lot of stick he dropped him. He got injured as well but he also elected not to start him when he got back fit."

As expected, Bermudian Kyle Lightbourne confirmed his retirement from professional football yesterday, saying he wanted to concentrate on coaching.

Lightbourne, 35 next week, was released by English Third Division club Macclesfield at the end of last season, and although he had a trial period with Kidderminster, failed to secure another contract.

The tall striker also played for Scarborough, Walsall, Stoke City and enjoyed a brief spell in the Premier Division with Coventry City during his time in England.