6’0”  11st.1lb.
b.Nottingham 20 January 1991
 

Debut 4 August 2013 (22y196d) Final Game 2 May 2015 (24y 102d)
First goal 7 August 2013 Final Goal 4 April 2015
CAREER: Brayton Academy,Selby;Leeds United,Hull City[44+26-2];Blackburn Rovers Aug’13(loan) Jan’14 (£500,000);Fulham Jun’15 (£3,000,000)[134+14-26].
INTERNATIONALS Scotland 2 apps
’17 v Can.'18 v CoR.
SQUAD NUMBER 45 Aug’13 - 10 Jul’14.
 

FL        68 + 8 apps  8 gls   - 16wdn                                                11ns
FAC      7 apps
LC         1 + 1 apps  1 gl                                                                       1 ns
Total  76 +9 apps   9gls      -16 wdn    +191m -311m  et 30m    12ns
Sent off  2
 

A midfield player who qualified for Scotland because of his father’s birthplace, (Glasgow) ,he was rejected by Leeds because of the belief that he would be too small. However he was given a traineeship  by Hull and developed into an attacking player with a fine range of passing skills. After establishing a first team place and playing for the Scottish Under 21s, he lost his place because of injury. In the meanwhile Hull were promoted to the Premiership and  Cairney joined the Rovers on loan, because Hull sought to recruit better class players for their new status. Although he would probably not have come to the club if bids for Luke Murphy or Jay Spearing had been successful, he rapidly became the creative heart of the team and in his first season was voted Player of the Year. Unfortunately he did not continue to improve and although no-one doubted his ability constant switching between playing wide and  centre midfield  did not aid his effectiveness. The offer of a large fee and the Rovers’ financial problems prompted an unexpected switch to Fulham  after just two seasons. Within a short period of time his market value had increased rapidly but he has not so far chosen to opt for a high value move. His Scottish allegiance is not a flag of convenience since he never had a desire to play for any other country.