Dele Adebola is used to the occasional goal drought during a career which is now well into its second decade, and he is not about to succumb to panic.

No matter that the veteran target man has netted only twice all season and last scored on August 30 – he insists weight of goals is not the only criteria by which to judge a forward's level of performance.

Adebola may have failed to find the back of the net in his last 12 outings since providing an equaliser against Queens Park Rangers, but he feels he has contributed in other, less glamorous, ways.

Deployed as a physical spearhead, the scouser's role is to put his body on the line, hold the ball up and supply those whose job it is to attack the penalty area from deep-lying positions.

His power and pace helped forge Lee Johnson's winning goal at Southampton earlier this month, while it was Adebola's astute pass which invited Marvin Elliott to lash in a brilliant equaliser against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Nevertheless, strikers tend to be judged on the goals they score and Adebola is confident it is only a matter of time until he adds to his tally.

"Of course all strikers want to score goals, but I've been in this position before and I'm not trying not to put too much onus on it," reveals Adebola.

"I think that maybe I'm trying too hard at the moment. I'm getting into good positions, but things are just not going in for me.

"To be honest, I'd be worried if I wasn't getting into those positions. Chances are coming my way, but I'm just not hitting the back of the net.

"But I know once one goal goes in, it is invariably followed by a couple more. Personally, I find it's something that happens to me every season and I'm not too worried."

Adebola will be hoping to register his first goal in two and a half months when City renew their rivalry with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tomorrow.

Failure to score or play well against his former club could see the 33-year-old forward come under pressure from City's platoon of strikers-in-waiting.

Loan signing Stern John and record buy Nicky Maynard are breathing down Adebola's neck, while Lee Trundle, John Akinde and Steve Brooker are desperate to fight their way back into manager Gary Johnson's match-day squad.

Adebola concedes: "There are plenty of other strikers who can do a job if I'm not. There's a lot of competition for places and the manager has plenty of options.

"We're entering a busy period with lots of games and I reckon just about everybody in the squad is going to be used."

That said, Adebola was not entirely happy when left out against Reading and told to rest by the manager.

He explained: "You want to play every game, but then you also have to respect what the manager does.

"He sees the bigger picture and he does what he thinks is necessary for the good of the team."

Adebola was back in the starting line-up at Southampton and he reasoned: "I think it's because I'm playing quite well at the moment.

"The manager wants a big, strong target man and my primary job is to keep the ball in the opposition's half. That's something I think I've been doing quite well."

This afternoon's assignment in south London will revive memories of City's tumultuous play-off triumph at Selhurst Park in May, when David Noble's breathtaking injury-time goal delivered a 2-1 success which helped the Robins reach the Wembley final.

Adebola believes he and his teammates are in for a hot reception from opponents hell-bent upon putting the record straight.

He confides: "They'll still be stinging from what happened at the end of last season and they'll definitely come out with revenge in their minds.

"Palace will feel they have a point to prove and it's going to be a really intense tussle. It feels almost like a derby, except geography says it isn't one."