RICKIE Lambert is desperate to end his mini goal drought against his former employers tonight but won’t celebrate “out of respect” if he does.

The Saints striker hasn’t found the net since opening the scoring in the 4-1 JPT Final win over Carlisle at Wembley.

That may mean he has only gone three games without a goal, but for someone with 32 strikes to his name this season and a reputation as one of League One’s most feared marksmen, that represents something of a barren spell.

And ahead of his return to Bristol Rovers, who Saints signed Lambert from for £1m at the start of the season, he said: “I don’t like not scoring so the quicker I get back to scoring the better.

“I haven’t scored for three games and I haven’t gone longer than three games before (at Saints) so hopefully I can start again on Tuesday.

“Obviously I want to score in every game and Bristol Rovers is the next game so I want to score.”

He added: “I will be pleased inside (if I score) and it will be a very important goal, but, out of respect for Bristol Rovers’ fans, I won’t be celebrating.”

Given Saints are doing the chasing in their bid for a top-six finish, Lambert thinks a game against one of their play-off rivals is ideal.

“It’s a game we are pleased to have,” he said.

“They are above us, we are chasing and there is no better way to catch them up than playing and hopefully beating them.

“If we beat them, we will go above them with a game in hand.

“So we have just got to go into it the way we have the last dozen games, fully focused, and hopefully we can get the result.”

Tonight will be Lambert’s second return to the Memorial Stadium, having played in the 3-2 FA Cup first round win in November.

And, while he is hoping for a similar reaction from the home fans, he expects the atmosphere to be more hostile with three precious points up for grabs.

“I got a good reception when I went back before, so I’m hoping it will be the same.

“I had a great time there and great memories so I’m looking forward to going back.”

He added: “When I was there I used to love playing there.

“It’s an intimidating place for other teams to come.

“The fans make it a great atmosphere.

“We know what we are expecting, we played there before.

“I think it will be a lot more intense than last time so we have to be prepared for that.

“But I think we have got the players who can handle that.”