BRITISH footballing greats Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand may be the big names but their new books are all being hammered by an unlikely rival . . . Bermuda’s own Shaun Goater.Feed The Goat, the former Manchester City striker’s life story, is outselling them all on Amazon.com’s UK web site.

The book, co-authored by Goater and Manchester’s City magazine editor David Clayton, tells of his Bermudian upbringing, his career in the UK and his dream of setting up a professional team on the island.

When the book was published last month, Goater told BBC Radio Manchester’s Andy Buckley — who travelled to Bermuda to interview him — that he hoped to reveal some honest truths about life at Manchester City, including how he stopped listening to manager Kevin Keegan’s team talks.

Goater, 36, now retired from the game, was back in Manchester last month for City’s match against West Ham and to promote his best-selling autobiography which will be on sale in Bermuda later this month.

The Bermudian striker told the BBC’s Buckley when it came to Joe Royle and Keegan, the two Manchester City managers he worked under, his verdicts could not be more contrasting.

“They were total opposites in how they were as managers,” he said.

“I scored a few seconds after coming on as a substitute at Old Trafford against Manchester United but didn’t get any acknowledgement from Keegan.

“In the paper next day his remarks would be, ‘What a great substitution’. I didn’t need him to say it in the media but it would have been nice if he’d said, ‘Well done Shaun, great goal,’ or something.

“I know that if Robbie Fowler had scored he’d have said, ‘What a great header,’ but I got none of that. I never got the little praises that, when you’re doing well, you look for.

“It was strange because I always felt that whatever I did, it wasn’t good enough.

“We had Ali Bernarbia, who was the best player I’d ever played with. Keegan would tell him how brilliant he was but I’d always get negative comments.”

Royle, though, has a special place in Goater’s affections.

“I can’t thank Joe enough,” he said.

“I had such a difficult time at City in my initial years and Joe was so persistent in picking me. At one time I thought, ‘Don’t pick me,’ because my confidence was that low.

“That was such a challenging time.

“Soon after that I started doing psychology. There was a City fan who’d finished his degree in psychology and Willie Donachie said he’s there if you want to use him. I never looked back from that point.”

Goater’s new book is a big winner