"It looks horrible" - Anthony Patterson, Sunderland AFC concern raised ahead of Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Former Black Cats player Danny Collins believes Anthony Patterson could face the axe after another costly goalkeeping error.

Ex-Sunderland player Danny Collins believes Anthony Patterson’s place is “possibly under threat” after the shot-stopper made a costly error against Hull City last weekend.

The Black Cats number one has been in between the posts since halfway through their final season in League One, with the 24-year-old missing only a handful of games since taking the jersey.

But the keeper has been facing criticism in recent weeks, with a poor own goal leading to defeat against Hull City at the Stadium of Light last week, while others questioned his goalkeeping for Pascal Struijk’s late winner for Leeds United the previous week.

Simon Moore is the backup keeper for the Wearside outfit and has impressed in the short absence of Patterson this term, with a few clammers beginning to surface for the former to earn a starting spot for the final 12 games of the season.

Danny Collins admits concern for Anthony Patterson’s Sunderland place

Speaking to BBC North East’s Total Sport show, Collins, who made 161 appearances for Sunderland across the Premier League and Championship, believes boss Regis Le Bris may have a decision to make over switching the goalkeepers for Friday's game against Sheffield Wednesday after Patterson’s latest blunder.

Collins said: "The spotlight's on him, coming off the back of the goals Leeds scored, balls coming into the six-yard box. Teams are going to have a look at that now, I'm sure Hull looked at it,

"It's a flat ball that's whipped near-post. He tries to collect it and gather it in, he gets a glove on it, it goes through his hands and drops into the back of the net.

“It looks horrible, it is horrible, and it's cost Sunderland points. I feel for Patto, he's come in for a little bit of flak in recent weeks, hopefully, he can bounce back from it. His position is possibly under threat - I listen to what the fans are saying.

“Simon Moore came in earlier in the season and did quite well. He's an experienced goalkeeper. (Le Bris) may well think I'll just take him out of the firing line. He is still a young keeper, and he might feel 'I'll just give him a little break and bring (Moore) in'.”

Regis Le Bris has big goalkeeping call to make

Mistakes from Patterson are costing Sunderland crucial points at such an important time of the season, with the Black Cats faithful once holding hope that they could gatecrash the top two by May.

Instead, slipping to defeats from individual mistakes is going to leave Sunderland fighting for only a play-off place, with an inconsistent run of form between now and the end of the season potentially providing a nervous wait with promotion rivals continuing to close the gap.

Moore has deputised four times this season for Sunderland, impressing with three clean sheets in the process against QPR, Preston and Coventry back in November 2024.

Making 83 appearances in the Championship, Moore certainly possesses the experience to be an effective replacement at this level and could be worth throwing in to help calm the backline down and provide the club with some reassurances between the posts.