Shaun Goater has thrown down the gauntlet to Manchester City strikers present and future by declaring: `Oust me if you can'.

The Bermudian has announced he wants to end his playing days at Maine Road and he is in no mood to let other wannabes have his shirt.

Goater set a new mark for himself when he notched his 30th goal of the season against Crewe in the midweek and in doing so became the first Blues player for 30 years to achieve the feat.

At 32 he is keeping players far younger than himself out of the starting line-up, including new ?5 million signing Jon Macken.

Goater is set to start in the home match against Crystal Palace today with Darren Huckerby alongside him and Macken warming the bench.

With City and second-placed side Wolves clear of the pack promotion would seem all but a formality. Goater knows what a place in the top flight will mean and he is ready for the challenge.

"I know (manager) Kevin Keegan will go out in the summer and buy some big money, big name quality players, but I am ready to battle for a place in his squad," he said. "I looked around the dressing room on Tuesday night at the quality, remembered who wasn't even playing, and just nodded my head.

"You would have to be a fool not to realise that this is a good team and that this club is going places. You would be an even bigger fool not to want to be part of it.

"There is great competition for places here and that is why you cannot allow yourself to worry about not scoring for a few games or feel sorry for yourself if you have not been playing well. And you certainly cannot afford to be injured or suspended."

With Keegan at the helm and a new stadium around the corner exciting times lie ahead for City, and Goater wants to be a part of it.

"It is such a happy place to be around. The fantastic new stadium will be in use soon and club is setting itself up for an incredibly exciting future," he said. "Whether it is for a short time or not I just want to be a part of that whole new era for the club.

"I want to end my playing career at Manchester City. Everything about this place is going forward and I want to go with it for as long as I am wanted.

"When you experience what I have experienced at this club and built up the kind of bond and rapport that I have with the fans, which came out so superbly on Tuesday night, why would I want to go anywhere else?"

Keegan admitted earlier in the season that he could have sold Goater to Wolves for ?2 million last summer and there are those who believe the Bermudian could find himself squeezed out when, not if, the Blues return to the Premiership.

The manager has already splashed out a club record on Macken and has been making polite enquiries about top established strikers such as Andy Cole, now with Blackburn, and Leeds' Robbie Keane. However, he has repeatedly said he would like six frontline hitmen at the club and that would surely include a berth for Goater.

If not, there would be a long queue of clubs willing to offer the cult hero a stage for his career swansong, especially when they consider his exploits since opening his account in April 1998 in a 4-1 win over Stockport County.

The following season Goater scored 22 times before raising the bar to 29 in the promotion-winning season that followed.

He finished as leading marksman in the ill-fated Premiership campaign, scoring 11 despite missing a chunk of that season through injury. His 30 under Keegan have taken his career tally so far to 95 in 167 starts and there will not be a single City fan who would begrudge him the century.

Kyle Lightbourne, suffering from a stomach bug, is likely to miss Macclesfield Town's clash with Torquay in the Third Division today.