All he ever wanted was a chance to prove himself.

Rotherham's new management team of Archie Gemmill and John McGovern gave him that and Bermudian striker Shawn Goater has responded with 13 goals already this season which matched his accomplishments of 1993-94.

Last season his goals came at a rate of one every two games during a time when he was in and out of the team under Phil Henson. Already Goater has improved on that with 13 in 20 games, including two each in the last two games.

Now Goater is the first front man pencilled into the starting team as players like Imre Varadi and recent signing Bobby Davison battle for one other spot.

Three things have brought about the change in fortunes.

"For one a consistent run in the team,'' was his quick response.

The others are the change of management and also the recent signing of a new two-year contract which came with a pay rise and more a feeling of security.

"I'm quite happy with the way things are going,'' said Goater from his Rotherham home yesterday. "I'm just keeping quiet and getting on with the job. I'm doing my talking on the pitch, I know what the dry spells are like.

"When you do have a dry spell the chances don't seem to go your way. So far this season I've been a lot more consistent.

"The longest drought I've had so far is two games since I've been a regular in the team. Now I'm putting high demands on myself and hopefully I'll keep knocking them in.'' Goater's season actually began slowly as be became distracted by interest shown from First Division club Port Vale, which subsequently cooled as the player struggled to find early form.

At one stage he was also dropped, for the Coca Cola Cup second leg game against Carlisle which Rotherham lost. He went into the reserves and scored against Notts County to earn a recall to the first team the following weekend -- August 27 -- and responded by hitting his first two goals of the season against Bournemouth.

He hasn't looked back since as an extended run in the team under Gemmill boosted his confidence to the point where he recently set himself a 20-goal target for the season. "Last season I got a goal every two games and that's what I'm looking for,'' he disclosed. "If I play 40 games I'm looking at 20 goals.

"I don't have any injuries and I'm trying to keep the ratio going. Right now I'm better than a goal every two games. It has given me a breather and I'm a bit more relaxed.'' Gemmill and McGovern have changed the team's style to suit Goater which says something about the faith the pair have shown in him. "They have total belief in me and I'm responding,'' he admitted.

"In the four years I've been at Rotherham this has been my longest run -- and not because of injuries. I've proved I deserve to be in.

"It's a happy time for me, things are looking up. It's just a matter of getting my head down. I'm happy with the way I've bounced back from the start of the season when I had a slow start.'' Goater is four goals behind the top scorer in the division, Paul Moody of Oxford who Rotherham play on Saturday. Then next Tuesday, Rotherham are at home to York in the Coca Cola Cup replay, a replay that was earned when Goater equalised seven minutes from time in the 3-3 draw on Saturday.

"It was a difficult game and we were happy to come away with a draw after being two goals down in the last 20 minutes,'' said Goater. "We showed a bit of fight and hopefully we will have the home advantage in the replay on the 22nd.'' The winners are away to Wrexham in the next round.

"It's the FA so anything can happen,'' the striker acknowledges.

Bermuda's other player in England, striker Kyle Lightbourne, also netted on Saturday to take his tally for the season to nine. He has also set himself a target of 20 goals, having netted 10 in his first season with Walsall last year. Promotion chasing Walsall are at home to Exeter on Saturday.

Shawn Goater