Following captain Ethan Ampadu in penning a new deal with Leeds United was goalkeeper Alex Cairns, continuing his long-standing association with his boyhood club for another two seasons. After playing a crucial role with his experience in a Sky Bet Championship winning squad and then helping the Whites’ retain their Premier League status last campaign, the 33-year-old spoke of his delight in extending his Elland Road stay.
“I am obviously delighted!” he began, exclusively talking to leedsunited.com. “When I signed here two years ago, it was a case of the first goal was to help get the club back to the Premier League. The second goal was to stay in the Premier League. Now, there are probably a couple more goals that I want to reach that I will keep under wraps for now. Hopefully when we make them, we will be talking and saying we did that!
“I might not have played hundreds of games for the club but I have always felt like it is my home. It is where I learnt my trade properly and I will be forever grateful for this club for where I am right now. The lads that have actually been born and raised in this, we get it. We get the highs, we get the lows and we get the emotional roller coaster that is Leeds United. You can’t help but love it. It has been amazing and long may the good times continue.”
Having amassed nearly 300 appearances in the English Football League, the seasoned pro returned to Elland Road ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. Despite his stellar career since graduating from Thorp Arch, Cairns felt he had a point to prove as he aimed to contribute his part in guiding Daniel Farke’s side back to the top-flight.
“The first thing for me was to obviously come into the group, get used to the group and let the group get used to me,” he explained. “Obviously I was coming from a lower league but still I needed them to respect me as a goalkeeper and had to do that by training hard, playing in the pre-season games.
“I tried to do that by keeping my head down and grafting hard. That obviously helps with the lads on the pitch because if I am going that extra mile, they then have to go above and beyond to be able to train harder than me, which I feel like is a positive effect on the group.
“And I feel like throughout my career, I have always made sure my training is at the top level, the highest level it can be so that I can go and always be ready. Right now, if the manager and the club want me to start the first game of the season, I will be ready to do that. That is something that I pride myself on.”
While Alex is yet to make a competitive first team appearance during his second spell with his boyhood club, the 33-year-old’s Side Before Self work ethic is clear, pushing not only himself but the goalkeeping contingent and wider squad as a whole to be the best they can be. His status within the Whites’ ranks may go unnoticed at times to outsiders but those within the camp could not value it higher.
Part of the travelling squad for every match, Cairns lives every moment, kicks every ball and makes every save from the dugout. That team ethic is incredibly important to the Yorkshire-born stopper and it is something he is very grateful to be part of.
“I think that is where credit comes to the management, to Ed Wootten, to all the goalies I have worked with and the younger boys as well,” he added after putting pen to paper on fresh terms at Elland Road. “Hard work goes into making sure that every single goalkeeper at the football club is ready to play and ready to perform.
“I have been in and around a lot of squads and success for me isn’t built on individuals that can turn up 75 per cent of the season. It is about the whole group. That is staff, players and people that aren’t necessarily football staff. Everyone is trying to make this club be the best version of itself and be competing at the top end of the league. Not just any league, the Premier League.
“That comes from having good people with a good work ethic. It is always a collective. It has never been about an individual. Obviously working hard, you have to sacrifice, you have to hurt, you have to do all the things that are expected to get success. All that makes it worthwhile.”
Away from the pitch, Cairns – who has spent his summer getting married and enjoying his honeymoon – has kept close ties with the community, particularly across the previous two campaigns since his return to Elland Road, through the Leeds United Foundation’s initiatives and his own football academy looking to inspire the next generation of goalkeepers.
“I remember a coach said to me, ‘You have got too much to offer as a person and as an individual to not have a look at the route of coaching’. From then on, I went and did it with one of my friends, setting up Kick On Academy in Doncaster, and we are trying to branch out and be bigger and better because I believe we have been influential to a lot of kids around there.
“We do a lot of stuff. We do a lot of free sessions. We also do a lot of sessions for elite coaching. And for me, it is something that I pride myself on. I also like to give a bit back and let them hear my voice and my ideas. We provide a platform for kids to go and enjoy, perform and literally have fun making top saves.”
Having tied the knot in recent weeks and now extending his long-standing association with the Whites, things are rosy for Alex who names his family as his biggest inspiration while also heaping praise on the unwavering loyalty of the Leeds United faithful.
“They are my biggest supporters. They are the reason I do what I do. I want to provide for them and be the best father for them and husband to my wife. For me, it is critical that I am that person for them at home because good times and bad times, they have been through it all with me. I have had some hard things in my life, I have had some amazing things in my life and they are the ones that keep me grounded.
“And, the fans pay so much money to watch us day-to-day, whether it be a training video, whether it be at training, whether it be at the stadium for a Saturday kick-off – whatever it may be. They come in the numbers and they have always come in the numbers. I remember the days in League One coming through, they have always shown up in the numbers and I appreciate that. They get it.”
Congratulations on signing a new deal Cairnsy!
