Dean Whitehead's position as Sunderland captain is under great speculation as manager Roy Keane admits he is reviewing the skipper situation.

The 26-year-old is struggling to secure his place in the starting line-up despite being officially named as the captain of the squad, and was left out of Saturday's defeat to Liverpool at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Whitehead was first handed the captaincy role during the 2005/06 season, but Keane is now deliberating the issue of who will lead the squad.

Keane said: "He can't be captain of the team on the bench. I pick over what I've seen over the last two or three weeks and we've lifted the standard.

"Now I look on the bench and I see Dean sitting there along with Carlos Edwards, Michael Chopra and Anthony Stokes. That's a good sign of the progress we've made as a club."

Keane admits that Whitehead is not permanently excluded from the starting XI, revealed he was impressed by his contribution when he came on as a substitute.

"Deano contributed when he came on and don't be surprised if Deano starts Saturday," said Keane.