He may be approaching the twilight of his career but Shaun Goater is not about to settle for second best.

Goater (33) is looking for a move away from Manchester City this summer after falling down the pecking order among Kevin Keegan's strikers.

But far from seeking to be put out to pasture, Goater is actively pursuing the pressure of a club chasing promotion and the expectation of a big crowd.

He still has a year to run on his City contract and so any approaches for his services have to go through the club. And although he says he is in the dark at the moment as to where his future may lie, he does know what he wants and just how long he believes he can keep competing among the best.

“I am a bit like Stuart Pearce, I have ten years left!” he quipped on the club's official website.

“I have not set a limit on my playing career but I will be looking for a two-year contract. There is a lot has to happen before that with clubs talking to Manchester City first.”

Goater's decision to make the move, even though the club said they would have liked him to stay on, was based on his hunger for regular football.

And playing regularly with the expectation of a crowd behind him will, he believes, bring out the best of his goalscoring talents.

“I enjoy playing and I still feel sharp. When I play on a regular basis the sharpness is there. I have had numerous people saying to me that wherever I go they will come and watch me and that means a lot to me,” he said.

“The First Division is about the level I want to play at. As a player I do like a certain amount of pressure. You get used to it, an expectation. The bigger the crowd the bigger the expectation.

“First Division clubs will hold crowds of between 15,000 and 30,000. That is a certain amount of expectation. I thrive on pressure and expectation. I like the pressure and the challenges that are set and from a big crowd will come challenges.”

Goater said he had yet to sit down with his advisor and go through his priorities for a move.

“The situation is as I have a year left clubs have to approach Man City, depending what Man City request as a fee will depend whether I am here or if I move on,” he said.

“I know all First Division clubs no matter their size are interested in getting into the Premiership.

“I believe I can help them achieve their goals. It only depends on what the fee is and that will then tell me how much someone wants me.

“I only hope that the fee which City ask will be a reasonable one and that something is sorted out.

“I have a list of priorities but sometimes you don't achieve your first priority. There is a list of criteria and I will sit down with my advisor and go from there.

“I know a priority is if I am happy to go to a certain club and that my wife and family are happy too. That is as important as promotion or getting into the play-offs.”

Wolves, Sheffield United, Sunderland, Wigan, Leicester and West Brom have all been linked with a move for Goater who may cost them in the region of the ?400,000 the Blues paid Bristol City for his services in 1998. Former boss Joe Royle would also be keen to link up with his former hitman but that would be dependent on the Ipswich, currently in administration, coming into a cash windfall in the summer.