Patrick Roberts warned ‘at some point the penny has got to drop’ ahead of big Sunderland summer

Sunderland interim boss Mike Dodds has told out-of-form wideman Patrick Roberts that “the penny must drop” for him given that the tricky winger has failed to recreate the dazzling heights he produced last term within the current campaign.

The former Celtic star has recently returned to the fray after a hamstring issue ruled him out for over a month, but offered very little during the humiliating Blackburn defeat and has since made two cameos from the bench in the goalless draws with Bristol City and Leeds.

Dodds told his pre-West Brom press conference on Friday that the 27-year-old is ‘in a good place’, but needs to produce more of the quality like the 12-goal contributions he notched last term.

Dodds said: “He’s refocused, we’ve had an honest conversation after the Blackburn game in terms of where I think he’s at. It’s important we get him on to the pitch going into the summer.

“Pat has got to have a big summer, we’ve had that conversation, he’s got to come back really fit and really strong. Patrick Roberts should be the first name on our team sheet, he should be the pillar for this football club to get back to the Premier League because his ability is completely undoubted.

“Unfortunately for Pat, he will have been at a lot of football clubs where people will have had that conversation, and at some point the penny has got to drop for him.”