Sunderland, 19:12, September 22, 2011
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is backing deposed captain Lee Cattermole to bounce back from the disappointment of being dropped from the team.
The 23-year-old midfielder was left sitting on the bench last Sunday, as Bruce took drastic action following a disappointing start to the season and was rewarded with a thumping 4-0 Barclays Premier League victory over Stoke.
But Bruce - who has bought Cattermole twice, for Wigan and Sunderland - revealed his enforcer took the blow on the chin after a run of niggling injuries and has already started the fightback.
He said: "Typical of Lee, he has rolled up his sleeves and got on with it and he has trained like a beast this week.
"I think he understood that the fight with injuries and all the rest of it, that he wasn't quite there at the moment.
"He understood it and took it like the man he is and, make no mistake, he will be doing as much as he can to get himself back into the team."
Looks like the winning line up for the next game lads, great to have competition for games, Catts was off the pace, and maybe the lay off will do him good.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is backing deposed captain Lee Cattermole to bounce back from the disappointment of being dropped from the team.
The 23-year-old midfielder was left sitting on the bench last Sunday, as Bruce took drastic action following a disappointing start to the season and was rewarded with a thumping 4-0 Barclays Premier League victory over Stoke.
But Bruce - who has bought Cattermole twice, for Wigan and Sunderland - revealed his enforcer took the blow on the chin after a run of niggling injuries and has already started the fightback.
He said: "Typical of Lee, he has rolled up his sleeves and got on with it and he has trained like a beast this week.
"I think he understood that the fight with injuries and all the rest of it, that he wasn't quite there at the moment.
"He understood it and took it like the man he is and, make no mistake, he will be doing as much as he can to get himself back into the team."
Looks like the winning line up for the next game lads, great to have competition for games, Catts was off the pace, and maybe the lay off will do him good.