"PLAY me regularly and I will score goals for you" is Shaun Harrad's pledge to Cheltenham Town boss Mark Yates.
The on-loan striker from Bury started the season in red-hot form, scoring five times in his first seven League Two appearances.
But he lost his place in the starting line-up after a calf injury and is without a goal since September 18, when his long-range effort settled the home match against Oxford United in Cheltenham's favour.
After five consecutive league games on the bench, Harrad was handed a start against Barnet last Saturday and he showed signs that his sharpness has returned, going close to ending his drought before Jeff Goulding's late winner.
Harrad is likely to have done enough to keep his place for Monday's televised FA Cup second-round tie with Hereford United and he believes another scoring run is not far away.
"I think it's no coincidence that I scored all my goals when I was playing regularly," Harrad said.
"As with any striker, I need to be playing and the goals will come again once I get a run."
The winners of Monday's match will progress to the potentially money-spinning third round and Harrad knows all about the rewards a run in the world's best domestic knockout competition can bring.
He was in the Burton Albion side that earned a replay at Manchester United during the 2005/06 campaign.
"It's something that will stay in my memory for the rest of my career," he said.
"We got a 0-0 draw at home and I should have had a penalty.
"I also had one cleared off the line and they sent on Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo with half an hour to go, so that shows what sort of game we gave them.
"We lost the replay 5-0, but the whole experience was special and the boys here have been telling me about their match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane last season.
"It's what the FA Cup is all about and we want to get through to that third round again."
Harrad has thrived in front of the television cameras in the past, scoring regularly in the Conference, when matches were shown on Setanta Sports.
He also netted twice against Middlesbrough for the Brewers in a shock 2-1 win at the Pirelli Stadium in January 2011.
"The cameras will add some extra spice and I think the first 20 minutes is massive because Hereford will come out all guns blazing," he said.
"If we can weather that and let our football do the talking, I am confident in our ability to get a win."
