KYLE Letheren has laughed off his goalkeeping howler for York City by admitting he considered wearing sunglasses for his next game.

The 29-year-old net-minder was blinded by the sun for Eastleigh’s goal in a 3-1 victory during the club’s last National League outing, which led to him completely missing his catch before then seeing the ball bounce between his legs and into the goal.

Letheren, who heads The Press Player of the Year standings, has been given the support of manager Gary Mills following the blunder and, recalling the embarrassing episode, the former Blackpool and Dundee shot-stopper said: “I called for the free kick, thinking it was an easy catch, but then I lost all sight of the ball, which made me look a bit of a dummy.

“I’m sure it will be on a show reel in a few years’ time of goalkeeping blunders and I wasn’t happy with it, but these things happen. People have asked me whether I should wear a hat but, if you look up, that’s not going to stop you getting blinded by the sun.

“I’ve spoke to Hinchy (goalkeeper coach Craig Hinchliffe) about it and we feel the only way you could combat it is by wearing sunglasses or contact lenses. We considered that, but then laughed it off.”

Having also been at fault for other goals last month against Boreham Wood and Gateshead, Letheren still appreciates that he cannot afford many more blips in an otherwise, personally impressive campaign.

Revealing his coping mechanism for a spell of iffy form, Letheren added: “Goalkeeping is in my blood and I’m not too bothered.

“It was bred into me from an early age how to handle errors. After one, you think about it that night, but then you just have to brush it to one side, totally forget about it and never look back.

“There’s no point doing anything else, because what’s that going to achieve? I’m not playing in this league because I never make a mistake and the odd error is part and parcel of goalkeeping and you have to be mentally strong.

“A striker can miss ten chances and score one, then still be the hero. As a keeper, you can make three or four saves and then one mistake and that’s the thing people will talk about afterwards.

“I know I can’t make too many but, before the last three or four games, I’ve been very pleased with my performances and the most important thing is it (the one against Eastleigh) didn’t cost us points.”

Letheren is pleased, meanwhile, that he will not need to worry about the perils often presented by uneven playing surfaces during tomorrow’s match on Sutton’s artificial turf.

“I actually prefer 3G pitches to some grass pitches, as you can trust them because they have no bobbles,” he reasoned.