The 39-year-old scored the decisive play-off final goal at Wembley that ended his hometown club's 104-year wait for top-flight football in fairytale fashion.

The elation of May 24 has, however, since given way to immense frustration with his time on the field in the opening three league games having been restricted to a 31-minute cameo from the bench as Wigan Athletic condemned City to a first defeat of the season.

With Marlon King ineligible due to the terms of his loan switch from the JJB Stadium, Windass had been expecting to start against the Latics only for manager Phil Brown to instead promote Caleb Folan from the bench to partner Geovanni up front.

The former Middlesbrough and Bradford City striker said: "I was gutted when I found out on Friday that I was not in, I nearly fell off my chair when he picked the team.

"I had trained hard and I thought I had done well against Swansea last Tuesday (in the Carling Cup) when I got a goal.

"I am judged on scoring goals and I got one. But the gaffer went for pace against Wigan.

"What is the point of having blistering pace if you are missing chances? In this league, centre halves drop off and don't allow any space behind the defence for the forwards to run into. You have to do it another way.

"The manager wants to go for pace, but sometimes you have to go for that bit of quality in the final third. I know when chances come along, I will take them.

"But when you are coming on for 20 minutes when 2-0 down, those chances don't come along. It is frustrating.

"Scoring goals is what I get paid to do. I don't care if I am 39, 29 or 59, I can still run around. I am still fitter than anyone else.

"It is a chat for me and Phil Brown to have. He knows I want to play. And until I am told differently, I will keep working hard and training hard. And when an opportunity comes along to score goals, I will take it.

"If I am not gutted to not be playing then I shouldn't be here. That is what annoys me. I was deeply upset on Friday but I came in with a smile on my face before the game."

Asked whether he would be tempted to look elsewhere for regular first-team football if he continues to be confined to the bench, Windass replied: "It took me 10 years to get back here, so I don't want to leave. All I want is the opportunity to help the club I love stay in the Premier League. I will fight tooth and nail to get in this team."

City's five-goal mauling against a Wigan side who, according to manager Steve Bruce, had produced their "worst display of the season" was a reality check for everyone at the KC Stadium.

After taking four points from the opening two games, the Tigers were well beaten with perhaps the most worrying aspect being that most of the damage was self-inflicted.

The tone was set after just five minutes when Sam Ricketts drifted off the front post at a corner, encouraging Kevin Kilbane to drill a ball that the international full-back could only divert past Boaz Myhill while trying to clear the danger.

Eight minutes later and more wretched defending proved costly, Wayne Brown this time displaying terrible positional play to allow the jet-heeled Antonio Valencia to race from inside his own half before coolly beating the City goalkeeper.

The travelling Wigan fans were ecstatic and chose to taunt their hosts with chants of 'you should have gone to Wembley', a reference to Hull FC's appearance in the rugby league Challenge Cup final.

By full time, some of the City fans would probably have agreed with that sentiment after more wretched defending had allowed Amr Zaki to score twice and Emile Heskey to cap a miserable day for Hull with a clinical strike.

The key now is how City react to this setback with Windass, who was in the Bradford City side that survived in the Premier League against all the odds, insisting: "The defeat is a reality check.

"It was horrible. We did not defend well and we did not take our chances at the other end. I think we had five chances and didn't score, Wigan had six and scored five of them.

"The last time I saw a goal like the first one, when it went straight in from a corner, was when I played Sunday League football.
"Thankfully, the international break gives us a chance to regroup before we go to Newcastle (on September 13).

"I was at Bradford when we were in the Premier League and we always said it was how you reacted to a heavy defeat that mattered."