Fleetwood Town keeper makes an admission about his future

Having previously been the first choice shot-stopper at Highbury, this season saw Cairns find himself down the pecking order when former head coach Joey Barton brought in Joel Coleman, followed by Jayson Leutwiler.

The 28-year-old (pictured) has been at Fleetwood for five years and has racked up more than 150 appearances in that time, featuring in two play-off campaigns.

However, as Cairns acknowledged, his situation wasn’t a unique one with footballers up and down the land evaluating their particular circumstances this month.

He said: “That’s the same for every single footballer up and down the country, regardless of what manager is in.

“If you’re not currently playing in the side, you have to look at other options.

“My contract is running out this year and I’ve got to look at certain situations.

“I think I’m in a good spot in my career where I’m at a great age, with a lot of good experiences in the game to really progress.

“Things happen in football, unfortunately the old gaffer is gone but that might open up a door for me, who knows?

“The people in charge and those that pick the team, you want them to have full confidence in you.

“If they’ve got full confidence in you it propels your game further on.

“I wouldn’t mind a clean sheet this weekend for the group, that’d be nice after a couple of recent bad results, but the results don’t match the performances in my opinion.”

Despite losing his starting spot, Cairns doesn’t harbour any frustrations or ill feeling.

Instead, the keeper maintains he is better than ever and feeling stronger because of that experience.

“That’s football,” Cairns explained.

“I’m not going to get too disheartened about the past now, the past is the past and it’s that for a reason.

“I’d like to say that I’m probably a better goalkeeper now than before all of this happened because of the training that I’ve done and the experiences that have come my way.

“It only makes me stronger and it only makes me better.

“Regardless, my determination is something I’ve always had throughout my life.

“I’ve always wanted to succeed and get the best out of myself.

“The only way I can do that is by showing it on a Saturday and a Tuesday night when the team needs me.

“If I’m selected, I’ll be taking the opportunity with both hands, as I’m sure Joel will.”

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