Sunderland boss explains why Anthony Patterson was dropped for final game of season

Nathan Bishop featured as the goalkeeper for Sunderland in their loss against Sheffield Wednesday (Picture: Ian Horrocks)

Mike Dodds, the interim head coach of Sunderland, praised Nathan Bishop for his outstanding professionalism, which earned him his first league start of the season.

Before today, Anthony Patterson had begun 110 consecutive league matches. However, this streak was broken when he was substituted for the game against Sheffield Wednesday and did not start today's match.

Bishop took on the challenge of being a starting player for the first time since the Carabao Cup loss to Crewe Alexandra in August. Despite his efforts, Sunderland had a disappointing ending to their season, losing to Sheffield Wednesday due to goals scored during the first half by Liam Palmer and Josh Windass. This win secured Sheffield Wednesday's position in the Championship.

In this article, Mike Dodds highlights the three aspects that are accountable for Sunderland's season.

The season for Sunderland has come to a dismal close with a disheartening loss at their own stadium, which was quite appropriate given the circumstances.

extra Player Assessments: The part where Sunderland requires improvement - and the player who brought some additional qualities.

According to Dodds, Anthony Patterson had a slight chance of playing in the game due to an injury he sustained during the week. However, after considering their options, the staff decided that Nathan Bishop should play instead because of his exceptional professionalism and conduct.

Despite knowing that Patto has been consistently performing well, the individual displays exceptional training skills each day without fail. Their actions and conduct are worthy of praise.

We have been discussing for several weeks whether to give Bishop a chance since we wanted to observe him in a match.

I can't confirm that Anthony Patterson will leave, but if he keeps improving at this rate, it's highly likely that many clubs will show interest in him. Some players like Chris Rigg have been questioned before, and Tommy Watson is another player who trained with us and played today.

Bishop was worthy of playing due to his commendable behavior, and it was also necessary to test his capabilities as a potential first-choice player for the team in the future.