SUNDERLAND NEWS
Bruce tells Cattermole to curb aggression
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Steve Bruce cannot watch after Lee Cattermole is dismissed
But the former Middlesbrough man admits that holding back is not easy.
"After the second sending off, the manager didn't say one word to me until the day before the Liverpool game," Cattermole said. "Then he came up and said 'I don't want you to make a tackle tomorrow. If you have to pull out of a challenge, do so. I need you to play games by being on the pitch. Just your presence on the pitch'.
"I listened to him and went out and did that. It was hard because I do like to make tackles. Sometimes you see the ball and just want to get there. Since serving my ban, I've barely committed any fouls. I'm not counting, but it's certainly not many. I'm working on it, concentrating on my game.
"The game has changed, so everybody needs to change with it. If the manager thinks I can affect the game by not making tackles, by just being on the pitch and leading by example, then that's okay."
Cattermole knows that as Sunderland captain, and a former Middlesbrough player, he is likely to be greeted with a hostile reaction at St James' Park. But he believes Steve Bruce and ex-Toon defender Titus Bramble will get a worse reaction than him.
"I always manage to block hostile atmospheres out," he said. "Once the whistle starts I just concentrate on the game and our opponents. I don't really think about the crowd.
"Their fans have got a few to choose from apart from me, haven't they? Steve Bruce is a Geordie fella managing Sunderland, so he'll get some stick. And obviously Titus is going to get the worst."
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