Anthony Patterson: My England experience and why Sunderland are ready to kick on again this season

Anthony Patterson says he is determined to kick on again this season after his whirlwind rise over the last 18 months landed him an England debut over the summer.

Patterson's role in Sunderland's promotion from League One, and his subsequent form at Championship level, caught the attention of U21 boss Lee Carsley who handed him a first call-up earlier this year.

And though Patterson was ultimately not included in the squad that went on to lift the European Championships, he spent a week at St George's Park with the group and was handed his first international appearance in a behind-closed-doors friendly.

For Patterson it was the icing on the cake at the end of a hugely successful campaign, and he insists he will not rest on his laurels as the new season begins.

"It was a nice little bonus on what I'd already done in the season really," Patterson said.

"I loved being away with the players and experiencing a different environment. It was obviously slightly disappointing not to get into the squad but there were three other goalkeepers there that had done really well, so it was just one of those things.

"They'd been around the squad longer and that definitely always helps. I really enjoyed the training there and working with the other goalkeepers and the coaches, and to pull on an England shirt was a great honour.

"It gives you a nice taste of something that could hopefully happen in the future, so I've just got to put club first now and then all that other stuff will take care of itself.

"I think I played 50 games last season, which probably surprised me and it was really nice to manage that.

"I always think there's stuff you can work on as a player, even after a really good season there are still parts of my game that I want to improve.

"You've got to keep building on your strengths as well, and improve on those even further.

"I feel like I can really push on this season now that I've had that year at the level and hopefully develop my game even quicker."

Sunderland surpassed all expectations in finishing sixth last season and while there will be greater expectation this time around, Patterson believes the experience a young squad now has can help them manage that pressure.

"We're really looking forward to it," he said.

"We did really well last season and we want to build on it, hopefully go one step further.

"Last season I think it was a bit of a step into the unknown for a lot of us, we had a squad who hadn't played too much Championship football so you never quite know what to expect from the standard.

"A year under our belt, it should stand us in good stead for the season ahead.

"The team just kept pushing on last year even through all the injury troubles we had, and I think that's the type of the team we are.

"We just kept battling on, pushing on. This season I'm confident we'll be exactly the same, even though the expectations will be higher I see no reason why we can't be successful again."