SILKMEN hot-shot Matthew Tipton says he wants to break the 20-goal mark this season - and blast Macclesfield Town to safety in Division Three.

In a struggling Macc side, the former Welsh under-21 international has already bagged 16 goals so far this season, beating his previous best of 14 achieved during the last campaign.

Now, he wants four more goals to break the magical 20 mark, and force the issue of his expiring contract to the fore with the club.

He told Express Sport: "Obviously the more goals I score, the better chance I have of finding a club if Macc don't offer me a contract, or if the worst happens and we get relegated."

"I haven't received any offers so far, but the way football is at the moment, I think a lot of clubs are just hanging around until the summer to find out who's available."

"I think I can get to 20 goals and hopefully see Macc away from trouble, then we can start worrying about contracts."

The former Oldham Athletic man wants to emulate the likes of ex-Huddersfield Town striker Jon Stead - who had fired over 20 goals this season in Division Three before being snapped up by Blackburn Rovers for £1.2m.

Bangor-born Tipton also has ambitions to spark his international career back to life, but knows he has a long way to go before he can consider rubbing shoulders with compatriots such as Rob Earnshaw, John Hartson and Ryan Giggs.

"I think I could step up a level or two, hopefully that could bring international honours with it."

"All I can do is continue to score goals and keep trying my best at Macc."

Now playing as part of a front three, Tipton admits it doesn't suit his style of play. But that hasn't stopped him scoring three goals in his last three games.

He said: "If I'm honest, I prefer playing in a 4-4-2, but you can't argue with the fact that the team have been playing better."

"When we play 4-3-3, everyone seems to know their job and we seem to defend better all over the pitch."

"After Saturday's game we were disappointed but the mood is still good."

"As John (Askey) said after the game, we are not going to win every game."

"We need four more wins out of the next eight - and whether that comes in the next four matches or not, we want to reach that 50 point mark as quickly as possible. It's a cliche, I know, but we have to take every game as it comes."

"The York and Rochdale games and Scunthorpe away are probably our best chance."

"With Hull and Oxford at home, nobody expects us to get anything out of them, but you never know."