Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris says Anthony Patterson must ‘learn from his experiences’ after making a decision on whether to axe the under-pressure goalkeeper.
Le Bris was keeping his cards close to his chest at his pre-match Press briefing ahead of tonight’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. The Black Cats kick off at Hillsbrough at 7:45pm.
The decision on whether Patterson keeps his place or not after being vilified for his error against Hull City last weekend has been made. The teamsheets drop just over an hour before kick-off, with Simon Moore on standby in case the Frenchman decides to take Patterson out of the spotlight.
However, Le Bris has offered support to the 24-year-old, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he keeps faith with the Academy graduate.
Le Bris said: “When a striker or goalkeeper makes mistakes like that, the consequences are always different but Anthony was a very good goalkeeper for the team and is still a very good goalkeeper. He can make mistakes but at the same time he has to learn from his experiences.
“In a career you have good periods and low points. You can’t be too emotional. You will face many problems.”
That is the same for the club as a whole, with Sunderland desperate to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats against Leeds United and Hull City. Le Bris is remaining calm and composed, however, despite the noise around him about Sunderland’s promotion chances.
“It’s not a crisis [at the club], we just lost two games,” he added. “When it happens it’s new and different, and we have to trust our game model and find good energy.”
The Sunderland head coach could decide to make a number of changes for tonight’s clash at Hillsbrough. He will definitely be without injured duo Enzo Le Fee and Dan Ballard, but could make further changes with the likes of Chris Rigg and a couple of others looking leggy at times.
“It’s important to manage the squad and finish the season with good and positive momentum,” Le Bris added. “We have had many injuries and many suspensions as well so it wasn’t possible but now we will have this opportunity so we need the full squad.
“The 35th game, the 36th, it’s tough for everyone. We are at the wall of a marathon and we are at that stage and we have to manage it properly. We know it’s normal to have fatigue but at the same time it has created the conditions to manage the squad but also involve the players in their recovery process and their ambition.
“And at the same time if you are tired you have to maintain the level. Maybe in a different way. Maybe to be smarter, maybe our way of managing the game. It’s a new condition but it is useful for our ambition.
“Sheffield Wednesday are a dynamic and good team. They have the ability for fast attacks, they have weaknesses, we have weaknesses. It should be a good game. We had a period with five draws and one defeat. That was a long period.
“Maybe it’s better to lose two in a row and then win again rather than making five draws. The players can manage the situation. We want to react, we want to win points and be proactive again.”
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