Sunderland set to promote academy coaching duo following backroom staff shake-up

Academy coaches Mark Prudhoe and Michael Proctor are set to step up to first-team duties as Alex Neil shakes up his backroom staff ahead of his first full season in charge of Sunderland. ChronicleLive revealed last week that goalkeeping coach Preece was leaving Wearside along with first-team coach Phil Jevons - although there has been no formal announcement by the club.

But in the meantime the hugely-experienced Prudhoe has been working with first-choice keeper Anthony Patterson, and he is likely to be handed the job on a permanent basis. Likewise, Proctor has also stepped up from his role coaching the U23s to work with the first team, and he is expected to fill the gap left by Jevons.

Prudhoe is the man who oversaw the development of Jordan Pickford as he rose through Sunderland's academy ranks to become the Black Cats' first-choice keeper and, following a £30m move to Everton in 2017, ultimately establish himself as England's number one. Prudhoe has also been instrumental in Patterson's career as the 22-year-old followed in Pickford's footsteps to graduate from the academy and take over as Sunderland's regular keeper in the second half of last season.

Prudhoe is an immensely popular and respected figure at the Academy of Light and finds himself in the same position that he was in 12 months ago, when he coached Sunderland's first-team keepers during pre-season after Lee Butler had left the club to join Wrexham and before Preece was appointed. The 58-year-old started out as a young keeper at Sunderland in the early 1980s and went on to spend spells with 16 different clubs in his 23-year career, making more than 400 appearances in all competitions.

He was appointed Hull City's goalkeeping coach in 2005 but he returned to