EWOOD'S forgotten keeper Alan Fettis is desperate to find a new club - in the hope of reviving his faltering career.

While Tim Flowers' future with Blackburn Rovers has been high on everyone's agenda, Fettis has found himself in an even more frustrating position.

And he has also lost his Northern Ireland place because of a lack of first team football.

Ranked number three in manager Brian Kidd's current list of keepers, he has few prospects of claiming it back.

Rovers would be prepared to part with Fettis but there has been little interest shown so far, with only suggestions of Hibernian monitoring his situation.

"I have spoken to the manager and told him how I feel," said Fettis. "I need to start playing first team football.

"When I played last season, I kept two clean sheets but the manager had just come in.

"I thought I had done enough to stay in the side but a new manager has his own ideas and I respect that.

"It has been frustrating, I have hardly played in the last two seasons. It's not ideal, it hasn't really worked out for me here and I just want to be playing again.

"John (Filan) did really well when he got into the side but that doesn't help me.

"And my international place means a lot to me, I need to get that back." Fettis was signed by Roy Hodgson from Nottingham Forest for £300,000 in September 1997 after Filan had been ruled out long term by serious injury problems.

He managed seven Premier League starts in that first season when Flowers was injured. But he made only two starts last season - when both Filan and Flowers were injured - getting into the side at the time Kidd took over and keeping clean sheets against Charlton and Newcastle.

But it was not enough for him to retain his place.

The lack of transfer activity generally is causing players like Fettis understandable concern, as he tries to get back into a more active role.

With reserve games fewer these days and goalkeeping duties having to be shared he feels he is suffering from a lack of competitive football all round.

And he finds his present limbo particularly difficult, wondering what the new season might hold for him.

"I'm 28 now and I have to be playing at this stage of my career," he added.

"Everybody would like things to be sorted out before they go on holiday but you can't always have what you want.

"I think that when clubs start pre-season training again something might happen.

"But it has been very quiet everywhere so far." If Kidd was to lose both Fettis and former England keeper Flowers, who has been told he can leave if a suitable offer is received, then the manager would almost certainly sign a replacement keeper.

Filan has established himself as the undisputed number one at the moment but the only other senior keeper at the club is the relatively inexperienced Anthony Williams.

Rovers' first pre-season friendly against IFK Gothenburg on Thursday, July 15, will not be played in the Swedish city but in Grebbestad's Sillevi Stadium.

Grebbestad is situated a couple of hours North along the coast from Gothenburg, partway towards Oslo, and the kick-off time is 4.30pm.

Their two other Scandinavian fixtures are both in Norway, which will be the base for their trip. They take on Lillestrom on Monday, July 19, and Fredrikstad two days later, both games kicking off at 7pm.

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