LEE CATTERMOLE has opened up about his decision to stay at Sunderland and described how good it feels to be part of the club’s revival having spent almost a decade on Wearside.

The Stockton-born midfielder had the opportunity to move to Stoke City before the window closed but decided to stay having been impressed by what he was hearing in his discussions with manager Jack Ross.

Having seen other players demand to leave following relegation to League One, which was something he had looked to do initially after last season’s woe, he can no longer appreciate why amid a dramtic mood change around the club in a short space of time.

Cattermole was hailed by Sunderland’s 3,000 travelling supporters at Valley Parade on Saturday when he turned in another performance in midfield that led by example; he may not be the captain any more but it was a skipper’s display from the experienced campaigner.

Now he is enjoying being part of a group of players who he feels have instantly bought into Sunderland as a football club, whose fans are desperate to see people who care pull on the shirt.

He said: “I would have left the club in different circumstances but I decided I wanted to stay, I didn’t want to go out on such a bad note after nine years.

“I was always determined to play well, we had a good pre-season, the staff and the players we have brought in have been different class.

“The lads we have brought in are what we’ve needed as a club.

“Some of the signings we made (in the past), never Sunderland players, never what the fans demand. Look at the end out there, three or four lads, 96th minute, ratting about people, that’s what this club is about. We’ll get better and keep going.

“For me, I fought relegation from the Premier League for 12 years, going home devastated on a night because you’re losing games. Digging in, it is a lot of effort.

“The difference in me because we’re winning, it doesn’t matter what league it is in.

“It’s a good thing to be part of. It’s nice to be part of it this but we’ve not done anything yet.

“We’ve got a lot of players in this squad who believe, they’re players who want to prove themselves and we know we have to work hard to get there.

“I think the manager and his staff have created that environment for us.

“We've seen there's players who don't want to be part of it, I can't understand it. Why wouldn't you? The manager is putting on such good sessions, we're learning and improving every week.”

Cattermole turned 30 in March and life in League One is new to him. He didn’t expect to be still around and loving it as much as he is, but as soon as the talks with Ross started in the summer he felt his way of thinking was changing.

The midfielder said: “Last year as a club we were nowhere near where we should have been, and it was horrible. At first I felt I needed a change but the staff who came in had a very similar idea about football to be, the longer it went on the more I wanted to stay.

“For me, it's all about what's going forward. If I think about the past it's just going to drag me down, I think about what I'm doing every day for the club, for Jack Ross and for the other lads.

“I said to the manager in pre-season, if the stick affects the younger lads, don't play me. I just felt chatting to Jack that he really cared, understood my situation. I felt I could learn from him.

“How he wants to play, you see times in games, some of the football we play is great. That's even with so many new many players. I like his principles, what he wants from his team. We're all good players but you only get to see it when you put the hard yards in.”

Having bought into the Sunderland revival, Cattermole isn’t thinking about what the future holds for him. What he does want to consider is how Sunderland can grow from a position of strength and climb into the top two, where they are now just a point away from after the dramatic 2-1 win at Bradford.

“We're making things so hard for ourselves,” said Cattermole. “Any time there's a dull moment in the game, we give a team an opportunity to get a foothold. We were so comfortable in the first half, we need to be more ruthless, get more used to winning games.

“It was the same on Tuesday, we dominated but you've got to go 2, 3-0 up. But we're learning as a group, improving the performances. We dug in there and I don't think we were ever going to get beat. Our response to the Burton defeat has been excellent.”

He added: “I didn't think we'd drop out of the Premier League after all those survivals we had. It hurts you as a player when you're giving everything on the pitch and then you're seeing some of the recruitment over the years, you get some stick sometimes and you look at how many players have come here and not made any impact on the club.

“I'm proud of what I've done here, I'll keep doing what I do. The change of ownership, it feels like a new club. The manager has been different class from day one, driving it, first out there to set the sessions up. He leaves no stone unturned, there's absolutely no excuses because he's so professional.

“I've been through that much but as long as you go to work each day and give your all, I can look in the mirror and sleep at night. I don't need to go tweeting or putting statements out, I'll try and do the talking on the pitch, and you see the response from the fans there.”

Cattermole has also got the praise from Ross. The Sunderland boss said: “He's been great for me from day one – how he's trained, how he's gone about things.

“I'm pleased he's enjoying the adulation he's getting from supporters because he's had difficult times and he loves playing football, loves the club and wants to take the club back up the levels.

“I think that was epitomised in the last 20 minutes on Saturday. His desire to make sure he won that game was outstanding.”