"If you ask any of the lads" - Anthony Patterson drops Sunderland AFC promotion claim | OneFootball

The Black Cats' number one hasn't lost faith in his side's chances to go up.

Anthony Patterson still believes that Sunderland will be challenging for the "top spots" come the end of the season, despite their recent dip in form.

A 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion took the winless run for Regis Le Bris and his players to five games. They have only scored three times in those contests as well, leaving some concerned about when Sunderland will snap out of this lull.

Patterson has been back in first-team action since the end of the last international break, featuring against West Brom and Millwall. Injuries prevented him from playing in the four games prior to the two-week interval.

His absence meant that he has missed the majority of Sunderland's current down period, but he has full confidence that they will be able to get back on track.

Anthony Patterson's Sunderland promotion prediction

The 24-year-old believes that the Black Cats will be one of the contenders for promotion by the time we get to the latter stages of the campaign.

Sunderland's five consecutive draws have allowed others to nip ahead of them in the league table, but, even with the 10 points that they have dropped over that period, they are still just two points behind league leaders Leeds United and Sheffield United.

"I think we've got what it takes to kick right on and be right up at the top spots by the end of the season," Patterson claimed, via the Northern Echo. "I think if you ask any of the lads really, I think they'll all say the exact same thing. I think the aim is promotion this year for all the lads.

"I think we've got to take the positives that we're unbeaten in ten games now, albeit we've drawn the last five. I think we've got to take real positives from the results that we have been getting and who stands up."

Sunderland were left frustrated, again, after their draw against the Baggies. They had the majority of possession (57%), way more shots (18 for them, two for Albion) but they weren't effective enough in and around the box.

In more positive news, Patterson kept his seventh clean sheet of the season. He was happy to notch another one, but admitted that not finding a breakthrough in the game did irk him.

"Being a goalkeeper, it’s great to get a clean sheet but on the whole, I think it's frustrating that we had such great control in the game and we weren't able to find the goal to win the game.

"It was quite the contrast really (to the weekend). Obviously, Millwall, we knew what we were going to get playing there. And then obviously (against West Brom), the lads defended really well, controlled the game from start to finish pretty much. And yeah, I didn’t have a great deal to do at all."

The academy product and his teammates face another tough test this weekend when they take on the Blades. Chris Wilder's side have one of the best defences in the league, which isn't great news for a currently misfiring Sunderland, but Patterson isn't looking to continue the Black Cats' recent run of draws at Bramall Lane.

"We’re looking forward to it (the game). Obviously, they won (on Tuesday evening), so they got two points clear of us, but obviously, that doesn't change things for us. We want to go to Sheffield and win the game, and that's what our aim will be."

Sunderland's need their rotation options to step up to the challenge

Injuries to the likes of Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne, who are both set to be out for six-eight weeks, have opened up opportunities for those who were behind them in the pecking order.

Attacking options like Aaron Connolly and Tommy Watson have been given more starting opportunities since Mundle went down against Coventry City, for example.

The former Tottenham Hotspur academy winger, in particular, had been a spark plug for Sunderland many times already this season. Without his abilities on the left-wing, Le Bris is going to need one of the two aforementioned advanced players, or the likes of Eliezer Mayenda, to find form while Mundle is out.