Steve Bruce tips Lee Cattermole for England

Aug 17 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

STEVE Bruce has tipped Lee Cattermole to become an England international at Sunderland following a dynamic debut against Bolton Wanderers.

Bruce is delighted his long pursuit of Cattermole  finally broke Wigan’s resistance last week and he expects the midfielder to go on to become a Black Cats great.

He said: “I thought he was terrific in the first half. He set us on our way. That’s why I paid the money for him. I brought him from Boro and I thought he was England’s outstanding player in the Under-21 tournament.

“He’s only 21, he’s played 130 games now, he’s going to be okay. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get him.

“He can go on to become an England player.

“The one thing he’s got to do is keep improving. He had a wonderful season for me at Wigan and you can see why. He epitomises everything I like in a footballer.

“He’s competitive, he puts his foot in, he never gives up, he drives the team forward, he’s decent on the ball, he’s a good footballer, I’m very, very pleased for him. He’s had a great debut.”

Bruce also insisted it was the players who had earned him the roar of approval he received from Sunderland’s travelling fans at the final whistle on Saturday.

He said: “The team did that for me. Because the fans have seen their team play with a bit of passion and spirit and desire to win the game.

“In the first half they’ve seen them play some great stuff and in the second half, in particular, we needed to dig in.

“There were some big players who tired a bit, but they dug in and made sure we got the result.

“I thank the players for that and then with the supporters, I’ve always said that if you give a North East team something with a bit of pride and passion about them, then they’ll be okay.

“In that sense, I’m lucky and I want to try and make sure we get established, that we manage to stay in the Premier League for nine years and progress.

“I’ve got all the ingredients and tools to make this a really big football club.”