Lee Cattermole praises team-mates in Sunderland's relegation battle
Saturday 23 April 2016 14:38, UK
Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole has praised the role played by his experienced team-mates in the battle against relegation.
Cattermole has been performing well on the pitch in recent games for the Black Cats after taking over as captain in the absence of John O'Shea, but he has revealed he is not alone in keeping spirits within the dressing room high with O'Shea, Wes Brown and Sebastian Larsson still strong influences despite not making it into the starting XI.
The trio, like Cattermole, were all signed by former boss Steve Bruce.
The 28-year-old said: "If you see the players who've been here since Steve bought us, then it's important they don't get overlooked.
"Sheasy, Wes and Seb Larsson - they've been the core of the team for the last three or four years and had a massive say in us staying up.
"They're still now rallying around the dressing room, which you wouldn't expect to see from lads who aren't playing. But I wouldn't expect to see anything else from them.
"I've been the same this season; been left out the team, changing positions and you find yourself frustrated. But you've got to look away from yourself at times and think if the manager thinks it's the best thing for the team, then you have to follow him.
"We've got a lot of good professionals in the squad and it's important we can do this again and hopefully not find ourselves in this position again."
O'Shea, 34, has not started a game since the 2-2 home draw with Crystal Place on March 1, while 30-year-old Larsson last got the nod against Stoke on November 28 and Brown, 36, has only six appearances to his name all season.
While manager Sam Allardyce will be grateful for the influence of his senior players off the pitch, the club's recent improvement has coincided with the January arrivals of Lamine Kone, Jan Kirchhoff and Wahbi Khazri and the return to fitness of Younes Kaboul.
However, their work is far from done and Arsenal's visit to Wearside on Sunday will test that team spirit to its limits, although Allardyce is confident it will hold.
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He said: "We have a very good dressing room, remarkably good for the position we have been in for most of the season. The players have come together since the turn of the year as well.
"The new players who have come in have been welcomed in and there's a remarkably good team spirit amongst the players that I have noticed that I wouldn't have expected to be quite as harmonious as it is.
"They really do seem to enjoy each other's company and have a relatively good bond, which I think can only be good for our fight, because it looks like they are fighting for each other as well as themselves."
