KYLE Perry celebrated his 24th birthday by scoring a crucial goal against Salisbury – then targeted a regular starting place.

The striker started the season like a house on fire and found the net 11 times before the turn of the year.

However, the former Chasetown player has struggled for form since then and has been relegated to the substitutes' bench.

But Perry, whose birthday was Friday, was brought on in the second half for Jon Shaw and calmly slotted home Mansfield's third in a 4-2 win.

"It was nice to be back on the scoresheet and a good way to celebrate my birthday," said Perry.

"It's been a struggle in the past few weeks and been frustrating. I've often been asked to play out on the left as part of a three when I prefer to play in a front two ideally.

"I'm delighted to score and hopefully I can push my way back in because I want to be starting every week.

"The goal was harder to score than if you have less time. You have time to think about where to put it rather than doing it on instinct.

"But it was a great counter attack and I was there to support and put it in the back of the net.

"There is a very positive feeling in the dressing room after that performance."