Martin O'Neill insists he is keeping Lee Cattermole as Sunderland skipper despite his recent arrest.
Sunderland boss has no plans to appoint new skipper
Martin O'Neill insists he is keeping Lee Cattermole as Sunderland skipper despite his recent arrest.
The Black Cats captain and on-loan Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner were arrested on Thursday and questioned over an alleged incident where cars were damaged in Newcastle close to St James' Park.
However, newly-appointed O'Neill has stood by his club captain, who is in-line for a recall against Spurs after missing the Blackburn game through suspension, and says the 23-year-old will keep the armband.
"At this minute, I don't see any reason to change the captaincy," he told the
Daily Mirror.
Whole-hearted
"Lee is as whole-hearted as they come. Even in the little training sessions that we've had, he's vociferous. We might have, generally, a quiet team, but that isn't really unusual any more.
"The team played well in the game [against Blackburn], but we might change it around, I don't know at the moment. If someone gets left out of the team, especially after last Sunday, they would consider themselves unfortunate.
"But I don't see any reason to change it. If Lee plays in the team, he will be captain. I stress, at this minute, I don't see any reason to change it.
"We might have a quiet team, right now I just want some points on the board. If we get them by being like a library in the dressing room, I'd be happy.
"Will Lee come back in? I haven't thought about it."
The Northern Irishman went on: "The plan I thought we had against Blackburn might have to be looked at."
Meanwhile Bendtner, who also missed the Blackburn clash because of a groin injury, played in a practice game on Thursday before his arrest, along with long-term injury victims Fraizer Campbell and Craig Gordon, who are close to coming back into the fray.
