Neil Etheridge

Fulham youngster to bide his time in order to gain first-team football

Monday, July 2, 2012
2:02 PM

Neil Etheridge only made one appearance for the Whites last season

Fulham youngster Neil Etheridge is going to bide his time as he tries to force his way into Martin Jol’s starting XI next season.

The 22-year-old is currently third choice stopper, behind David Stockdale and Mark Schwarzer and made his only appearances against Odense in the Europa League, where the Whites threw a 2-0 lead away to crash out of the tournament.

“It’s hard to set targets because obviously last season I would’ve liked to have been on the bench for the whole campaign,” Etheridge explained. “But then with injuries and Stocko getting called back [from his loan spell at Ipswich] and my injury prevented that from happening.

“It is really hard – not just for goalkeepers – to set goals, especially in my case with two good ‘keepers in front of me. I’ll just have to keep my head down and keep working and I’ll take the opportunities that come to me.”