Striking up a good relationship with your team-mates is as important off the field as it is on it.

If you are friends away from the glare of publicity it can only help with your understanding on a Saturday afternoon.

It is because of this that my strike partner, Paulo Wanchope, and I have been planning to get to know each other a little better.

During my time at Bristol City I did this and it paid dividends.

We might not have had a lot in common but it was just a question of making that extra sacrifice in the hope of getting a better understanding of that person so that when you did play together it was that much better.

I think the time has now come for me to try that with Paulo.

Unfortunately his injury, which led to him missing the 4-0 defeat against Wimbledon on Saturday and may mean he is out of action for six weeks, might have put paid to my plans.

You see we were supposed to be going to see Destiny's Child together.

I know he likes that kind of music and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get a better understanding by hanging out with him.

Although we have both been scoring goals for fun I still believe there is a lot more to come from us as far as our pairing is concerned.

We haven't really clicked as a twosome and I feel in terms of our performances we can add another 30 percent to our output.

We are playing good games individually but we are not playing good games as a pair.

Unfortunately, we will have to wait a while to put the theory into practice. Paulo's absence from the first team is obviously a blow both to himself and to us.

He has had this niggle with his knee for the last two or three weeks and he has been trying to do extra weights to strengthen it. On Friday he was training and his knee swelled up.

It is doubly disappointing because he had come through an earlier operation, but sometimes you find that just when you think you are through the other side you suffer a setback.

As well as missing out on playing for City, Paulo will also be thinking about the World Cup.

When he gets over the injury he will not only want to make sure he is fit but he will want to have played several games to make sure when he joins up with Costa Rica he is in good shape.

As I said, he was not available on Saturday afternoon when once again we showed our inconsistent side.

We beat Walsall 3-0 in midweek and then lose by four just a few days later.

When we are scoring we score a few and when we are not we seem to concede a few - we just don't seem to get that balance.

Saturday's game was like the match earlier in the season against West Brom when we lost by the same scoreline.

What was more disappointing was that the defeat came at home where we had previously been unbeaten.

We gave a lethargic performance. You cannot build a fortress at home by just expecting to go out and win games.

We were all just thinking the three points were there for the taking and all we had to do was show up. No matter who you play they are all going to be hard games. As players we say that all the time when we are being interviewed. But do we believe that and understand it?

It is for us to learn from that now and not get caught like that in the future.

Although we didn't play well as a team on a personal level I felt I let myself down.

What was asked of me in that game more so than in previous games was my hold-up play. Because there was no Paulo I was paired with Darren Huckerby who although he is a striker tends to play wide a lot.

If anyone sees highlights of him playing he is always to be seen taking on a full back. His game is based on running at people whereas my game is being the target man, being able to lay balls off and getting in the box for crosses and so forth.

That is where I feel I didn't do myself justice.

We couldn't build as a team. When the balls came up we didn't get hold of them.

Therefore they were able to win the second ball and get back at us.

Goal kicks are big part of the English game. If you can win the first or second ball you are then able to apply the pressure straightaway.

When balls came up to me I was probably winning four out of 10, but that meant they were winning six of them and that isn't good enough.

Away from the football field, I was chosen to help launch the ticket sales programme for the Commonwealth Games which are being held in Manchester next year.The event was held at the city's Velodrome yesterday and I was joined by Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane and athletes Denise Lewis and Tanni Grey-Thompson.

I was wearing three hats at the launch. Firstly, as a Manchester City player who will be playing in the Commonwealth Games Stadium once the event is over, secondly, as an adopted Mancunian who knows how good it will be for the city and its people and thirdly as a Bermudian looking forward to seeing our athletes perform here.

The last part is the patriotic side of me coming out.

I am very much looking forward to the Games and will be finding out which events we will be entering and then I will try and get tickets for them so I can see our competitors in action.

I will really be able to absorb the atmosphere of being in a large crowd. Normally I am out on the pitch and the crowd is all around me, so it will make a change for me to be one of those cheering the athletes on.