SUNDERLAND have had nine different scorers in the Championship this season, so after the opening 13 matches of the campaign, it is somewhat surprising to find that Patrick Roberts is not one of them.

Last season, the 26-year-old chipped in with five Championship goals, and while he might never have been a regular scorer throughout his career, he would normally expect to have opened his account for the campaign by now.

It is not as though he has been struggling to get into the opposition’s 18-yard box, with Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Leicester City the latest game in which he has found himself in a number of promising targets, only to either fail to find the target or see his attempt at goal saved.

This afternoon’s home game with one of his former clubs, Norwich City, represents his latest opportunity to break his duck, and he admits it is high time he started following his team-mates’ lead by getting onto the scoresheet.

“We’ve had tons of goals from different areas this season, but I’m still waiting for mine,” said Roberts. “Hopefully, it will come at the weekend.

“We have all been chipping in, and that’s what this team brings. You have some exciting young players, fearless at times. We just grow as a team, but ultimately, you have to get results.”

Tuesday’s result means that Sunderland have suffered three defeats in a row for the first time since Tony Mowbray was appointed as head coach in the early weeks of last season.

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The losing run has seen the Black Cats slip to tenth in the table, but Roberts is not unduly concerned by the run of defeats.

The Wear-Tees derby loss to Middlesbrough was due, in no small part, to Dan Neil’s controversial dismissal on the stroke of half-time, while Tuesday’s defeat came at the hands of a Leicester City side who have now won 12 of their opening 13 matches this season.

“You just have to take the positives and take them to the next game,” said Roberts. “Leicester are a top side and have a top squad. That’s what these teams can do – it’s why they are top of the league.

“It’s a cut-throat league and a cut-throat business. Results matter at the end of the day, but I’m sure the Sunderland fans can see how hard we’re working, especially with such a young squad.”

While he might not turn 27 until next February, Roberts in one of the senior statesmen in Sunderland’s squad, having racked up more than 200 senior appearances in England, Scotland, Spain and France.

His loan spell at Carrow Road came in the first half of the 2019-20 season, and was hardly a happy one as he made just one start and three substitute appearances for the Canaries.

He fared better when he headed to Middlesbrough in the second half of the same season, although his transitory existence as a Manchester City player, when he seemed to be heading out on a different loan move every six months, hardly helped him settle and establish himself anywhere.

“I’ve had many clubs down the line, and come up against a few of them, so it’s all different memories,” said Roberts, who has finally found a home at Sunderland and would ideally like to remain on Wearside beyond the end of the season, when his current contract is due to expire.

“The Norwich game is one I want to win, and we’ll prepare and do our best. They are a good side, but we’ll be full of confidence and do our best to give the fans something to be proud of.”

Sunderland (probable, 4-2-3-1): Patterson; Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Huggins; Neil, Ekwah; Roberts, Bellingham, Clarke; Burstow.