The Sunderland first-team may be falling into a poor patch of form right now, but one player out on loan has just enjoyed a very positive weekend for the first time in a while.
It seems the Black Cats are going to have to settle for a place in the Championship play-offs this season after the defeat to Hull City at the weekend left them eight points adrift of Sheffield United in second place.
Regis Le Bris’ men could be set for even more misery, too, as three players have now been ruled out with injury for the majority of the remainder of the campaign.
But, things are going well for the Sunderland players out on loan right now, with one man in particular getting a big weight off his shoulders.
Nathan Bishop keeps first clean sheet for Cambridge United
Nathan Bishop had an eventful winter window, swapping Wycombe Wanderers for Cambridge United on deadline day.
He didn’t have the best start to life at his new club, though. In fact, Bishop had a nightmare against Birmingham just two weeks ago, but he may have turned things around now.
In his last game, Bishop helped struggling Cambridge register a 2-0 win over high-flying Stockport County to earn a crucial three points in their fight for survival this season.
Bishop’s first clean sheet for his new club will do his confidence the world of good, and he will be hoping for many more as he looks to get his career back on track in League One.
Cambridge United have to win against Crawley Town this weekend
With 14 games to go now this season, there’s everything to fight for at Cambridge United, and one of their biggest games of the season is just around the corner.
Bishop will come up against Crawley Town on Saturday, and there’s a chance Cambridge could even leapfrog their relegation rivals if they manage to win by two goals or more. With this in mind, Bishop keeping another clean sheet would come in handy.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 21 | Burton | 33 | 7 | 11 | 15 | -14 | 32 |
| 22 | Crawley | 32 | 7 | 8 | 17 | -22 | 29 |
| 23 | Shrewsbury | 33 | 7 | 6 | 20 | -22 | 27 |
| 24 | Cambridge | 32 | 6 | 8 | 18 | -24 | 26 |
Where Bishop goes from here remains to be seen. It’s unlikely he has a future at Sunderland — even if Anthony Patterson is in the bad books right now — and he is pretty much playing himself into the shop window as things stand.
Sunderland would surely sell up in the summer if an offer comes in, especially considering Matty Young looks like a ‘top prospect’ while out on loan at Salford this season. Still, Bishop is doing himself no harm if he can hit some good form from now until the end of the campaign.