SUNDERLAND will start their pre-season programme this week unsure of their first-choice goalkeeper, with Steve Bruce adamant he had no choice but to make the competition perhaps unmanageably fierce.

Keiren Westwood joined from Coventry City on a free transfer this summer, with Simon Mignolet and Craig Gordon already in situ.

If the Republic of Ireland international was expecting to automatically be named No.1, Black Cats boss Bruce says that will not be the case.

Instead he will allow Westwood and Belgian Mignolet to fight it out in the pre-season friendlies, which begin at York City tomorrow.

Gordon will sit out the period as he recovers from a knee operation earlier this year.

Bruce expects him to be fit again in late August.

If Britain’s most expensive goalkeeper has not found a new club by then, Bruce may find he has too many keepers to keep them all happy.

”I’ve signed Keiren to bring in competition and we saw what happened last year with Craig – I don’t think he’s going to be ready until the end of August at last,” Bruce said.

“Pre-season will decide (who starts as first choice) but to be fair to big Simon, he’s done nothing wrong.

“But you need really good competition, and that’s what pre-season’s for, to decide who I’m going to choose and who I’m going to go with.”

Gordon has been dogged by injury problems since moving from Hearts for £9m in 2007. His contract expires at the end of the coming season.

The club had been due to open talks with the Scotland international in May, but decided they could not take the risk with his fitness again in doubt.