The position of a goalkeeper is arguably the most fiercely competitive, yet mentally challenging in the game.

Forever in the spotlight, one mistake is usually game changing as it frequently results in a goal and that’s all it can take for a goalkeeper to lose their place in the starting line-up, with another waiting in the wings to capitalise on an error or loss of form.

Leyton Orient’s Sam Sargeant already knows about the mental strength required to be a goalkeeper, after he lost his place in the side to goalkeeping coach Dean Brill shortly after Justin Edinburgh’s appointment as head coach.

Having initially joined the club as goalkeeping coach last summer, Brill went from being Sargeant’s mentor to number one within a matter of months and has remained between the posts ever since, signing a new two-year-contract with the club earlier this year.

Having been vying with Charlie Grainger for the number one jersey during the first half of the season, being demoted to third choice was naturally a blow for Sargeant, although the 20-year-old maturely admitted that he understood the reasoning behind Edinburgh’s decision.

He said: “You don’t want anyone to be playing over you. That’s the reality as a goalkeeper as only one person plays each game and you want that to be you.

“The situation at the club was that we weren’t getting the results that we wanted at the time and Justin Edinburgh came in and felt he needed an experienced head in between the sticks. I think that was something me and Grainger both understood.

"Dean is a really experienced goalkeeper and his experience at the time was a lot greater than mine and Charlie's. He knows more about the game as he has been a part of it for much longer than us.

“I think me and Charlie understood the reasoning behind Dean going in goal and it’s just one of those things. At the time, I think it did help the team as results did improve. Watching him play, me and Charlie would have picked up valuable things as well which we can now use against him in our fight to get the number one shirt this season.

“As much as it was disappointing at the time, it didn’t stop me from training hard and trying my best to get that number one spot. It’s just something that makes you stronger as a person and a player and that’s where the mental side of the game comes in because as a goalkeeper, you need to be so strong mentally because things like this do happen so suddenly. It’s how you react and you continue to train and work hard.”

Fresh from penning a new two-year contract at the Breyer Group Stadium earlier this week, Sargeant now has his eyes firmly set on superseding Brill as the O’s number one this campaign.

After making three appearances for the O’s in November, the 20-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Leatherhead, but was restricted to a handful of appearances due to injury.

Boosted from signing that new contract, Sargeant is now raring to go ahead of pre-season and despite the obvious rivalry, he admits that the Orient goalkeepers work closely with each other during the week.

The 20-year-old said: “It’s a very tight group of goalkeepers at Orient. I’ve been working with Grainger for four years now. He’s someone who I get on with both on and off the pitch. We have a very good rivalry. We both know that we both want the same thing as I do with Dean and as I do with Arthur Janata, who has just signed a new contract.

“All of our aims is to be that goalkeeper who plays week-in, week-out and I think it’s important for everyone to understand that. But then again, we need to all work together to get the best out of each other. We will be with each other and we will help each other when we make a mistake on a match day. We want the standards to be high so everyone is getting the most out of it as possible.

“Working with someone as experienced as Dean Brill, who has had a great career, is great for me and the other two goalkeepers. With Arthur and Grainger, all three of us are not too far apart in age and it’s good to have a real good rivalry and to have good competition, as we can then bring the best out of each other and it’s something you need to push on and be the best that you can possibly be.”