place in Manchester City's team for Saturday's First Division Lancashire derby clash against Blackburn Rovers.

Goater, still recovering from a hamstring pull that kept him out of City's last two matches, watched the team beat fellow promotion contenders Birmingham City 1-0 away from home on Tuesday night to reclaim top spot in the division after leaders Charlton and Fulham also lost.

And now they will be looking to consolidate their spot with wins in two big home matches in the next six days, against Blackburn and then Ipswich.

"I haven't trained yet, just a lot of running,'' said Goater yesterday. "The test will be when I have a full training session.'' Goater's injury, which he sustained against Port Vale on October 2, is not as bad as at first feared, so instead of being out for at least a month his recovery time will be shorter.

"I felt it and stopped straight away which was obviously a smart move,'' he said.

Manager Joe Royle decided against risking him on Tuesday but knows he will soon need seven-goal Goater back if they are to sustain their promotion push.

"We've played one or two games more than the other teams but at the end of the day we have the points and we would rather have the points than the games in hand,'' he said.

It's been 10 years since Goater first went to England. Now there is a good chance of Goater, 30 in February, fulfilling his ambition of playing in the Premier League.

His decision to leave Second Division leaders Bristol City for Manchester City weeks before they were relegated to the Second Division themselves didn't look a good move at the time.

But Bristol City lasted just one year up while Manchester City bounced back at the first attempt and could make a second straight promotion push.

"The other day I was thinking `if we beat Birmingham and results go for us we could be top of the table','' said Goater. "Then my mind started to wander -- what if we were to get in the Premiership? That's always been what I've wanted.''