Fleetwood keeper Cairns holds his hands up and admits Town '˜not good enough'

That game at Sixfields was Town’s second of the season in League One as the keeper started the new campaign where he had left off in the previous one with three successive clean sheets.

The save was the highlight of Cairns’ season to date and even gained him praise from arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Manchester United’s David De Gea.

But since then Town and Cairns’ form spiralled downwards. After some time out of the side under Uwe Rosler, the 25-year-old has returned to form under new boss John Sheridan, conceding only twice in the new boss’ unbeaten four-game tenure.

Cairns now faces Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink’s fellow strugglers with back-to-back clean sheets, after building on three draws with a much-needed 2-0 win at Rochdale.

That moved Town two points above both the drop zone and Northampton.

And Cairns says every player will battle to keep Town up with nine games to go.

He said: “Last season was amazing but this season I know as a team we have not been good enough. We know that, and we are training and working hard to put that right.

“We got off to a brilliant start again and I don’t know what has happened. The teams are a lot stronger and we have not managed to cope.

“We’ve lost games we should have probably won, I’d like to say we have been unfortunate but we are in the position we are because we have not been good enough.

“It is hard and when you don’t win a game for so long and before you know it you are in a relegation battle.

“We realised that a while ago now and we are trying our best to get out of it.

“I have never shirked away from my responsibilities for the team.

“ I’ve always stood up and tried to do my best.”