Shaun Goater rose a notch up the Manchester City pecking order yesterday after the club put his fellow striker Paulo Wanchope up for sale.

But in an interview with The Royal Gazette , Goater was reluctant to talk of Wanchope's likely departure as an opportunity for himself to cement his first-team place.

And the Bermudian, upbeat after netting the winning goal in Saturday's 1-0 fourth-round FA Cup victory against Coventry, added that City manager Joe Royle would probably buy another striker if Wanchope was eventually sold.

"The gaffer (Royle) has made the decision to do that with Paulo and I wouldn't want to comment on that,'' said Goater.

"That probably means he will bring in someone else. Then again, he could take him off the list and we could see Paulo playing for City again.

"As for me, the gaffer knows me and knows what he will get from me. No matter who comes, if I am playing at my best I have a good chance of being in the team.'' Royle yesterday confirmed that Wanchope would not be in the squad for City's Premier League home clash with Liverpool tomorrow night, even though he would continue training with the squad. That is likely to mean Goater will start.

Goater replaced the unhappy Costa Rican on Saturday and made his mark, scoring the game's only goal with a fine header from a corner in injury time.

During a first top-flight season for Goater in which opportunities for starts have been limited, his fourth and arguably most important goal of the campaign was a sweet moment.

"I just switched positions with Spencer Prior for the corner,'' said Goater.

"He went where I usually go and I went to the far post. No-one really picked me up and I made good contact with it.

"It was not the best of games and Coventry were making the better of the chances. I was sitting there on the bench, thinking this could be good for me, because if we do create chances it might be in the last 15 minutes when I'd be on. And it worked out that way.'' After a First Division promotion season in which he scored 29 goals and was voted City's Player of the Year, Goater's Premier League debut campaign has made a stuttering start.

His first-team chances were limited, first by injury and then by having to win his place back from former World Player of the Year George Weah, Wanchope and recent signing Darren Huckerby.

Weah made only seven starts before leaving, complaining he was spending too much time on the bench and now Wanchope appears to be on his way as well, apparently leaving Goater in a strong position at Maine Road.

Goater said starting out the top level late in the season after being put back two months by a knee injury in a pre-season friendly had been tough.

"It's difficult when you are effectively starting the season in November-December,'' said Goater. "I was going into games thinking I'd be glad if I could get through 75 minutes.

"And when I came back from injury, the first three or four games were against some of the best teams, defensively, in the Premiership.'' Judging by comments made by Royle yesterday, Goater's boss appreciates just what his player has been through.

"Shaun started the season with a cartilage problem and it put him back a long time,'' said Royle. "Once he got over that he had to start another pre-season on his own and it was catch-up for him. It was like starting a race four laps behind everybody else.'' Goater plundered goals galore for 12 years in the Football League, now known as the Nationwide League, with City and Rotherham United and Bristol City before them, before he finally made it to the Premier League.

"The biggest difference I have noticed is that there are fewer chances in the Premiership and the chances that do come tend to be half-chances, because the defending is better,'' said Goater. "You can get one chance in a game and that's your lot.

"We are not firing on all cylinders at the moment and there is a lack of confidence. But winning in the FA Cup gave us something to grab onto in terms of confidence and hopefully we can build on this. The atmosphere was better in training this (yesterday) morning and so maybe the win lifted us a bit.'' Having waited so long for his chance, Goater relishes playing in the top flight and is determined not to make a rapid return to the lower echelons.

But with City lying second from bottom of the table, relegation is a distinct possibilty. Goater said the squad were working hard to get out of the drop zone.

"We believe we can do it,'' said the striker. "The last thing we want is regrets. So we are making the sacrifices and putting the work in to make sure we won't have those regrets.

"It's better to be struggling to stay in the Premier League than doing well in Division One.'' Goater has loved the experience of pitting his wits against some of the world's best defenders in the Premier League.

"I've been coming off the pitch thinking, `Wow, I just played against an England centre back or a France centre back'. It doesn't really get any better than this.

"This is what I've always wanted -- to see what I could do against the best.

The English league is the strongest it has been for a number of years, one of the strongest leagues in the world. And Shaun Goater does not want to be back in the Nationwide!'' Perhaps the biggest match Goater has played so far was the Manchester derby when City went down 1-0 to their illustrious cross-town rivals Manchester United in front of a passionate crowd at Maine Road in November.

"The Manchester derby was everything I was told it would be,'' said Goater.

"I just wish I had been 100 percent fit for it.'' Hit-man: Shaun Goater, seen here with Manchester United's Gary Neville in the Manchester derby earlier this season, will be looking to hit the target again when City host another of the Premier League's giants, Liverpool, tomorrow evening.