Shaun Goater wants to stay with Manchester City -- whether or not they are relegated from the English Premier League.

The 31-year-old Bermudian striker told The Royal Gazette yesterday that he had grown fond of City, their fans and life at Maine Road.

But he also confessed that if City were demoted and a Premier League club came in for him, he would have to consider leaving, however strong his feelings for the Blues.

It was Goater who kept alive City's hopes of staying in the top flight with his match-winning goal against West Ham on Saturday.

With two fixtures remaining, at Ipswich on Saturday and at home to Chelsea two weeks later, City are four points adrift of the safety zone.

Whichever division City are destined for next season, Goater said he would be keen to stay with Joe Royle's team.

"Yes, I would like to stay with City,'' said Goater. "I have started to get strong feelings and affection for this club. I've gotten attached to them.

"You never have a season you just play out here. You're either playing for promotion or to avoid relegation. The last couple of years have been like that and they have been exciting times to be involved with the club.

"The only time I would consider leaving a club is when a club does not want me any more. When you're a striker and you are not scoring goals, then you know that is when a club is likely to let you go.

"If I was not scoring and they wanted to let me go, I would know why. I know this business. I know how English football works.'' Productivity has not been a problem for Goater, who, with Saturday's goal, became City's top scorer with 11 goals in a season severely curtailed by injury.

His recent purple patch may make Goater a summer transfer target for other Premier League sides, particularly if City were to go down.

And if such an offer transpired, giving Goater the choice between First Division football with City or top-flight soccer elsewhere, he hinted that his emotional ties to Maine Road would be severely tested.

"My heart is saying yes, I would want to stay with City,'' said Goater. "But in that situation, I think my heart would have to have a talk with my brain.'' But Goater may not need to face that dilemma if his side can pull off a great escape.

The first stage of achieving just that was winning 1-0 against the Hammers on Saturday, while fellow strugglers Derby and Coventry were losing.

Goater's first-half winner was a low 15-yard shot which took a big deflection off West Ham defender Ian Pearce on its way into the net. Some reports described it as an own goal, but Goater did not subscribe to that theory. "Of course I'm claiming it,'' said the goal-hungry striker. "Strikers claim everything. If someone doesn't want a goal, then they shouldn't be playing football.

"The cross came in slightly behind me and I couldn't get much power on it. I knew it was on target. The 'keeper might say he would have got to it without the deflection, but I would say it was going in anyway.

"The win has given us a lifeline and a glimmer of hope. The gaffer (manager Joe Royle) told us to forget about the hype before the game.

"To be honest, one or two did not play well and we also had a bit of luck.

We've had a lot of misfortune this season, so we were pleased to have finally got some luck.'' Perhaps City's most realistic survival scenario would involve fellow strugglers Derby losing their last two matches against formidable opponents Ipswich and Manchester United. That would leave City needing four points from their last two fixtures to overhaul them.

"It's not often Manchester City ask Manchester United to do them a favour,'' said Goater. "But on this occasion, we have to ask.

"And of course we have to do ourselves a favour first by winning our games.

If they (United) do us a favour, we have to make sure we don't waste it.'' On Saturday, City visit a club with whom they were promoted last season, Ipswich Town. The two teams have had conflicting fortunes in their first campaigns back in the Premiership.

While Ipswich are battling for a place in the top three which would give them entry into next season's Champions League, City need the points for survival.

City's final match is a home clash with Chelsea.

"The big game for me is the one against Ipswich,'' said Goater. "They are still playing for big stakes in terms of a Champions League place, so they will be giving nothing away. It will be a tough match for us.

"I personally believe we are capable of beating Chelsea, but if we don't get a result at Ipswich then that game will be null and void.

"Ipswich are a very good team scoring-wise, but they always give us a chance of scoring as well. They're a good footballing team but I'm quite surprised they've been in the top three all season. I thought they'd make the top 10, but then I thought we'd make the top 10.'' Goater felt the unsettled nature of the City team, partly due to an influx of new players, was at least part of the reason for their present predicament.

"We've had a lot of players come in and sometimes they take time to gel,'' he said. "I think that's probably been our downfall, as well as having one or two players in their first season in the Premier League.'' Goater, whose 29 goals last season made him the First Division's top scorer, has silenced those who doubted his ability to find the net regularly in the top flight in a season which effectively started three months late due to a knee injury he suffered in a pre-season friendly.

Goater keen to stay at City From Page 11 He was satisfied with his personal achievements in his first Premier League campaign, but was reluctant to view them outside the team context.

"I've had 24 starts and have scored 11 goals, so that's a similar strike rate to all my previous seasons,'' said Goater.

"I'm pleased with that, but I'd rather the team survived without me scoring another goal, than Shaun Goater getting two double hat-tricks and the team going down. I want to play in the Premier League again next season.

"I always wanted to play in the top flight and test myself against the best defenders in the world. In some games I have felt I have got the better of defenders and I am thinking, `come on, feed me'.

"The main difference I have found between the Premier League and the Nationwide is that chances are few and far between. In the West Ham game, the goal was the only real chance I had, although I did have another half-chance.'' Goater suffered abuse from City fans in his early days with the club after his move from Bristol City, but overcame that sticky start to be voted the club's Player of the Year last season.

"I thought when I joined City that this is the type of club that can make or break your career,'' said Goater. "I could have said, `I don't want to take this challenge', but I stuck at it and it's made me a better player.'' Shaun Goater: Netted his 11th goal of the season in Saturday's 1-0 win over West Ham United.