Patterson has already won promotion once with Sunderland and says the unity in the dressing room now reminds him of the squad that came up to the Championship three seasons ago.
Sunderland’s place in the top six has been secure for a couple of weeks and Patterson says the players, like the fans, are now ready to get the play-off campaign underway.
First, Sunderland must negotiate their final two games of the regular season against Oxford and QPR, with Regis Le Bris now planning to shelve his rotation and revert to playing his full strength side.
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Patterson said: “It’s been a little bit strange, but I think as a group we’re looking to build momentum into the playoffs, so we’re going in with good form ahead of them.
“I think we just want to get into the playoffs and give it a good crack. I think last time we kind of just built the momentum and got in there in the last day, but this season we’ve kind of been up there all the way throughout the season.
“We’re excited for the playoffs now. I think we’ve got a really, really good group this year.
“I think the togetherness of the group has been really good, and it was similar three years ago when we entered the Championship so hopefully we can do the same this year. That’s what we’ll be looking to do, build the momentum in the last two league games and give the play-offs a good crack.”
As an experienced academy graduate, Patterson has been doing his best to help two young stars who have come through the system – one, in Tommy Watson, who is soon leaving for Brighton and another, Harrison Jones, who has just broken into the side.
He said: “We’re just helping Tommy as much as we can. That’s all we can do really.
“Harrison is a great player. He works his socks off in training, and yeah, he’s been brilliant.
“I know obviously the feeling of first coming into the team as a young lad and I like to give a little bit of advice and help them through.”
