MARTIN O’Neill has praised the leadership qualities of Lee Cattermole after selecting him for the first time last week.
The Sunderland captain missed O’Neill’s first game in charge – a dramatic 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers – through suspension.
That victory, and the late-night arrests of Cattermole and Nicklas Bendtner for alleged criminal damage to cars parked in Newcastle, prompted an unchanged side for the next game at Tottenham.
With Jack Colback rested against Queens Park Rangers, Cattermole finally started last Wednesday. It was more than his typically energetic display which impressed O’Neill.
“Young Jack has done wonderfully well in the games he has played,” said the manager.
“For one so young he is really encouraging, and it’s a big boost for the Academy that him and Jordan Henderson have come through.
“But I thought Lee did great in the game (on Wednesday). He is vociferous, but not that alone. I didn’t have a worrying time about bringing him back after he missed out the game beforehand. His genuine encouragement of the players helps our team.
“The first thing he said after the game was he was mad with himself because he allowed a midfield player to make run off him for one of the goals. He was pretty hard on himself, which was encouraging to hear.”
At 22, Colback is considered a baby in the Premier League, but Cattermole is only five months older. A veteran of more than 150 Premier League games, the youngest captain in the histories of Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic is still learning too.
“I didn’t realise he was only 23,” O’Neill admitted. “He has played a lot of games for a 23-year-old.”
Cattermole is by no means the only Premier League footballer to have attracted negative headlines recently.
Christmas week brought two high-profile instances of racism – one alleged against Chelsea’s John Terry, the other proven against Liverpool’s Luis Suarez.
“It is a shame really because football in the last four or five years has attempted to do as much as it can to eradicate racism,” said O’Neill.
