Shaun Goater has been handed a footballing lifeline by Coventry - and seven games to make his season memorable.

Left out in the cold for most of this campaign, the veteran striker, who has played just 18 minutes of first team football with Reading since October, has gone on loan to Micky Adams' Sky Blues for the remainder of the season to help them stave off relegation.

With a contract dispute ensuring Goater would never appear for the Royals again - it would cost them ?50,000 to let him play just one more game - the Coventry move gives Goater a chance to prove that he is still a footballer with something to offer.

“I'm pleased, the way my situation here was carrying on it was more and more apparent I wasn't going to play for the first team,” said Goater, who could appear tonight for Coventry in a testimonial game at non-league Worcester.

“I want to be playing and it's a chance to jump into the melting pot with the situation Coventry are in. I always have something to prove to myself but I also want to be able to prove to Micky Adams that he made the right decision in asking me to help out.

“I am going to go in there and do what I do best and hopefully I can do my bit to ensure Coventry survive in the Championship. If I can walk away knowing I have done my best and haven't let down the fans or the manager or myself then I will have ended the season the right way.”

Goater, sounding happier than he has done since last pre-season when his troubles began, even joked that there was also the added pressure because his agent, Mark Georgevic, was a Coventry fan and “would never forgive him” if he let the club down by not offering his trademark brand of goalscoring.

The former Man City talisman has been only a bit-part player all season, with manager Steve Coppell not even giving him a full 90 minutes in pre-season.

Short substitute appearances and run outs in the reserves were all Goater was offered aside from two league starts when injury necessitated, leaving Goater to fly back to Bermuda in search of a place in a starting XI.

“I'm looking forward to playing in a pressure environment and hopefully helping them out of their position,” continued Goater, who has been involved in more than his fair share of relegation scraps, successful and otherwise, with City.

“I've done my best in reserve games but there's not the same pressure. It will be great to be really involved in meaningful matches where every point matters.

“I thrive on that sort of football, the pressure and the crowds - I am really looking forward to it.”

Goater will be involved in tonight's friendly at Worcester and will use it is an opportunity to get to know the team and his team-mates ready for his first game at home to Brighton on April 2 and a chance to aid Coventry move out of the top relegation spot and into safety.

And the Goat will already have one ally at the club, former Reading skipper Adie Williams who moved north midway through the season.

As well as providing the Bermudian with a friendly face, Williams will also be a welcome travel companion as Goater experiments with commuter life for the first time.

Williams, who is yet to move since his transfer to the Midlands side, lives 40 minutes from Goater's Reading home and the two will then travel the remaining hour and ten minutes together.

“It will be nice to have someone to travel with because I have never done the whole commuting thing before, I have never been more than 30 minutes away from the training ground,” continued Goater, now joining his seventh club after stints at Reading, City, Bristol City, Notts County, Rotherham and Manchester United.

“But Adie's injured at the moment so I will be on my own for a bit. The distance is going to be okay for a couple of months but I wouldn't have wanted to do this earlier in the season.”

Goater had a brief conversation with new boss Adams about the move yesterday morning after training in which he was told to “just come up here and do what you have always done and give us your best”.

Adams also told his club's website: “Shaun is an experienced centre forward with a reputation for scoring goals.

“I'm sure he will be a valuable addition to our side and hopefully he'll find the back of the net a few times along the way.”