GIVE ME one of the main striking roles and I'll give you a record-breaking season - that's the defiant message in-form Kevin Gallacher has sent to boss Roy Hodgson. The Scottish striker is in the form of his life for club and country and, with seven league and cup goals already this season, is on course to beat his previous best of 16 - as long as he is reinstated to the front line. Gallacher has had to play a supporting role to Chris Sutton and Martin Dahlin in recent weeks by moving out wide to replace the injured Stuart Ripley. But the diminutive hitman admits that he was unhappy about his five-game run on the wing and let Hodgson know exactly how he felt.

He said: "I am at the stage of my career where I have to decide what position is best for me. I have always considered myself to be an out-and-out striker and that is where a want to play now.

"Roy knows I was unhappy playing out wide and I let him know how I felt. I returned to the front line at Wimbledon and I hope to be there for Saturday's game against Southampton.

"I could have beaten my record last season but didn't get a single shot on goal in the last seven games of the season."

Gallacher, who finished with 11 goals last term, has established himself as a world-class striker after scoring six times in Scotland's successful campaign to qualify for the World Cup in France next year - the most recent in Saturday's 2-0 win against Latvia.

And a trip to France will make up for the biggest disappointment of his career so far - being left out of the Scotland squad for Italia '90.

He said: "At the time I needed a fresh challenge to boost my international career so I moved from Dundee United to Coventry City. But it backfired on me because I was left out of the squad. That has been the biggest disappointment of my career so far."

Looking forward to Saturday's clash against perennial Premiership strugglers Southampton, Gallacher warned against thinking that three points are a foregone conclusion.

He said: "Just because Southampton are struggling at the wrong end of the table doesn't mean we are automatically going to win. There are no easy games in the Premiership any more and the boss will make sure we don't go into the game complacent.

In the form of his life...Kevin Gallacher

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