Source: Northern_Echo
Captain Cattermole earns Bruce praises
STEVE BRUCE believes Lee Cattermole has recaptured the form he showed when he first joined Sunderland and thinks the midfielder has put his disciplinary problems firmly behind him.[LNB] The 22-year-old had a controversial start to the season after being sent off twice within a month against Birmingham and Wigan.[LNB] That led to speculation Bruce would relieve the midfielder of the captaincy but the boss kept faith and Cattermole appears to have learned his lesson.[LNB] Last weekend, the former Wigan man was booked after just five minutes in the 1-0 win over West Ham.[LNB] Had it been the Cattermole of old, he might have received a second yellow, but to his credit he showed a new level of maturity and avoided another red card.[LNB] Bruce believes the player has turned a corner and praises him for the form he has shown of late.[LNB] He has just started to play again like he did last season,[LNB] Bruce said.[LNB] He has very infectious enthusiasm and gets people working with him.[LNB] There is nothing worse than being sent off and the second time he was thinking he'd let everyone down. The big thing is how he reacted and learned from it.[LNB] He was magnificent last week and there were signs of maturity. He's not 100 per cent there yet when the red light comes on, who knows what can happen[LNB] But after being booked very harshly after five minutes, he watched what he was doing and led the side with enthusiasm.[LNB] He's been taught a harsh lesson by what happened at Wigan and he's realised he doesn't want to be in that position again.[LNB] When you are young, you do make mistakes, but it looks like he's learned how to curb his enthusiasm. He wanted to show everybody.[LNB] Having managed Cattermole at Wigan Athletic, Bruce makes no secret of that fact that when he arrived on Wearside 18 months ago, the midfielder was his number one target.[LNB] The Black Cats boss admits he felt the Sunderland dressing room was lacking someone with Cattermole's character and drive so it was no surprise to see the Stockonborn midfielder arrive at the Stadium of Light two months later.[LNB] I wanted us to be competitive and mirror the spirit of Cattermole and Cana, so I bought the two of them, the former Manchester United defender said.[LNB] I thought they would go out and give everything they have got.[LNB] I just wanted to change the mindset. Lee had a great impact at Wigan and has had a great impact here.[LNB] He typifies this working class area. People work hard here and Lee epitomises what people like to see in their football players. He gives his all.[LNB] Cattermole missed big chunks of last season due to a knee injury, and even after his return Bruce admits the 22- year-old struggled to find form.[LNB] The manager also believes that it was no coincidence his side went through a dip in form when Cattermole was out and believes his captain's form is a big factor in the rise to seventh place.[LNB] The captain's impressive recent form included a man of the match performance against West Ham and he will be looking to repeat that when the Black Cats visit Fulham today.[LNB] He got his injuries when he was flying and we missed him, Bruce said.[LNB] It's no coincidence that when he went out we drifted a little bit.[LNB] He had a serious knee injury and never quite got back and didn't reach the form he first showed.[LNB] But for last five or six performances, he's showed his true form and looks a very good captain.[LNB]
