Sunderland manager offers revealing insight into Lee Cattermole's influence on dressing room

Lee Cattermole celebrates his third goal of the campaign in the 1-1 draw with Coventry City.

Cattermole was one of Sunderland’s best performers on an ultimately frustrating afternoon at the Ricoh Arena, the midfielder scoring his third goal of the campaign in the 1-1 draw.

He was given a big ovation from the huge 5,000-strong travelling support at full-time after establishing himself as a vital player for Ross.

His performance so caught the eye of onlookers that the Black Cats boss was even asked if he saw a future manager in Cattermole.

The Black Cats boss was again effusive in his praise of the midfielder, with Cattermole a key player under Ross.

Ross said: “There are a lot of players in that dressing room with that [commitment]; I have spoken before about George Honeyman and his commitment to every single game and some of the players we have bought in, the likes of Jack Baldwin.

“A lot of them can show it in different ways, some can be more vocal than others, some can lead by example.

“Lee is vocal in the dressing room, he makes demands of people, he cares an awful lot about football, that is the one thing for me that has been interesting to see.

“To work with players first hand you get a feel for their passion for the game. He loves playing and he wants to play and wants to do well, sometimes it manifests itself in different ways.

“He has that drive and it pulls other players along.

“I don’t know [whether the’s a future manager], that is something only Lee can answer,” Ross added.

“He is interested in the game and I’m sure he feels he has a lot of years ahead of him, he wants to speak to you about the game and take information on.

“If you speak to him about previous managers, he enjoyed the ones who taught him, if you like, or made the game quite clear for him.

“It is something that maybe he has got, he has natural attributes that would lean him to that side of the game but it depends how he feels about it and dealing with the other stuff.”

Cattermole will be suspended for the clash against Peterborough United on Tuesday night after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.