Cattermole could lose captaincy as Bruce warns him of conduct
Published:Steve Bruce has told midfielder and Sunderland captain, Lee Cattermole, that future indiscipline will not be tolerated and is threatening to remove Cattermole as captain.
It took just 22 minutes for Lee Cattermole to earn his second yellow card in Sunderland’s game with Wigan, his second red card in the Premier League this season, and Bruce fears that the player will earn a bad boy reputation if he doesn’t curb his enthusiasm.
Cattermole was given the captains armband after the departure of Lorik Cana during the summer, but the player’s indiscipline has given his manager reason to review the current situation.
“He has to learn, and quick, otherwise his career is going to be blighted by his disciplinary record,” said Bruce.
“I made a big decision in the summer to give him the captaincy and I will review it in the next week or so, it might be the responsibility is a bit too much.”
The 22-year-old has seen red five times in his Sunderland career and will miss the Black Cats ties with Arsenal and Liverpool as Bruce looks to improve on last season’s 13th placed finish.
Bruce did have reason to be cheerful when Sunderland’s £13.2m record signing, Asamoah Gyan, scored on his home debut to secure a point for 10-man Sunderland at Wigan.
Gyan, a half-time replacement for Danny Welbeck, scored with a superbly taken volley and Black Cats fans will be hoping he can do the same when Sunderland host Arsenal on Saturday.
The Ghanaian international was a stand out performer at the World Cup and he is 66/1 to finish the Premier League season as top scorer.
Sunderland are 9/1 to be relegated from the Premier League. See the full Barclays Premier League betting market here.
