Yusuf Mersin will respect whatever decision Maidstone manager Hakan Hayrettin makes over his goalkeepers.

Mersin was surprised to be given the nod over Tom Hadler for the Stones’ 1-1 draw at Altrincham on Saturday.

He took his chance in an impressive performance but knows the situation could change at home to York this weekend.

Hayrettin kept the pair guessing going into the opening match and has already said he may play Hadler against York.

“I was surprised to play because Tom had a great season last year,” said Mersin, who made seven appearances in the Stones' National League South title-winning campaign.

“Neither of us knew who would play the first game.

“We came here not knowing, so you have to be ready at all times because Tom could have played or I could have played.

“But we’ve got a great relationship, and, to be fair, I’m so happy and grateful the way he was with me, because he was so supportive before the game and I would be the same.

“Tom’s just come off a great season, we got promoted last year, I know he was disappointed but it’s one of those things, the manager makes a decision on the day and you’ve just got to keep working hard.

“There’s another 45 games to go, you never know what’s going to happen.

“We’re quite similar, we do similar things well, we both made saves in pre-season.

“Hak said he was up till three in the morning trying to make a decision so, listen, I got the nod but he did actually say he doesn’t know what’s going to happen on Saturday yet.

“It’s one of those, I might be in the same position as Tom next week. That’s just the way it is.

“I’d be disappointed not to play but it’s the manager’s decision.

“If he wants to play someone, you’ve got to respect that and keep fighting hard for your place.

“We’ve worked really hard over pre-season, me, Tom, Harley (Earle, third-choice keeper) and Zach (Foster-Crouch, goalkeeper coach).

“We came in a couple of weeks before the actual pre-season started, so we’ve all been sharp and raring to go.”

Mersin made three terrific saves in a matter of minutes as Altrincham got after Maidstone before finally equalising at the end of the first half.

He made another good stop deep into second-half added time, deserving his good fortune when the offside flag saw Marcus Dinanga’s follow-up ruled out.

“It was a good point for us,” said Mersin, after Hady Ghandour was sent off on the hour mark.

“The first 25 minutes, from where I was standing, it looked like we were in charge.

“Jack Barham had a good chance for 2-0 and the keeper made a great save onto the post, and obviously they came on to us in the last 15 minutes of the first half and put us under real pressure.

“We managed to fend it off for quite a while but they scored right before half-time.

“Second half, the red card kills us a bit but we showed that grit that we’ve got, that team spirit.

“Everyone’s fighting for a place, everyone wants to do well for the manager, so I’m happy with that.

“I had in my mind I was going to have to make a big save at the end.

“I got lucky because the guy was offside from the follow-up but as a back five and the whole XI, we defended with everything we had."