CAMERON Belford has vowed to return from his spell on the sidelines a much-improved goalkeeper.

The 22-year-old paid the price for some costly mistakes in the opening few matches of the season when he was replaced by Trevor Carson, who arrived on loan from Sunderland.

Manager Richie Barker is hoping a stint away from the firing line will help the youngster rediscover his form – something the former Coventry trainee is determined will happen.

“Being dropped is just is one of those things that happens in football,” said Belford. “The gaffer has made the decision to take me out of the team, which I respect.

“I will never agree with being dropped because I am not a player that can just sit on the bench and take my money. At the same time, I respect the gaffer’s decision and I need to bounce back better than ever.

“I’m not the type of person to bury my head in the sand. I will come out fighting and give it all I have got. I have got my head down in training, worked hard and it is up to the gaffer when he throws me back in.”

Many observers put Belford’s mistakes down to a lack of confidence, yet the Nuneaton-born ace believes the real reasons were much simpler.

He said: “I don’t think it was a lack of confidence – I have always been a confident person. It was more like a lack of concentration at certain times.

“Goalkeepers do go through these patches and I have to remember that I am only 22-years-old, which is still relatively young for a keeper.

“I’d like to think I have another 15 years left in me, and there are lots of ups and downs in football, so it is how you react to them that matters.

“It has been hard because it’s never nice being left out of the team. I have spoken to a few people like my dad, who was also a keeper, and Scunthorpe’s Neil Cutler, who I am still quite close to from working with him at Bury. They all said the same thing really – that I have not become a bad keeper overnight.

“They just told me to work hard and show the gaffer what I am about, which I have done in the last few weeks. I have stuck at it and shown the gaffer I am more than ready to be thrown back in.

“It’s a case of putting it all behind me now. The plan is for me to come back into the team when Trevor returns to Sunderland next month. But, like I said before, it’s the manager’s decision.”