Cattermole is reinvented as a scoring force

At the peak of his powers, when the Black Cats were targeting the top half of the Premier League, he was touted as an England international in waiting. In more difficult times, when Sunderland were hurtling towards the bottom of the Championship, he was pilloried for leading an alleged dressing-room insurrection.

Inspirational captain, personification of a rotten core. In almost a decade in Sunderland colours, Cattermole has had just about everything pinned on him. It is only now, however, that he finds himself being described as a ‘goalscoring force’.

A leader? Undoubtedly. He might have passed the captain’s armband to George Honeyman, but Cattermole remains a hugely influential figure within the Sunderland squad. A fans’ favourite? He hasn’t always been, but in the wake of another barnstorming display against Plymouth Argyle, social media was buzzing on Saturday night with calls for the 30-year-old to be awarded a testimonial to honour his efforts in red-and-white.

But a goalscorer? Prior to last month’s home game with Gillingham, Cattermole had gone more than nine years without scoring at the Stadium of Light. Now, he boasts two home goals in the space of two matches. Like London buses, if the capital’s public transport network had ground to a complete halt since 2009.

“I didn’t realise that his goal against Gillingham was his first at the Stadium of Light, so then to follow it up so quickly with another terrific finish is brilliant,” said Jack Ross. “He’s having a great season, there’s no doubt about that.”

When Grant Leadbitter returned to Wearside in January, there were fears Cattermole would be squeezed from the first-team picture. Weren’t the midfielders too alike to play in the same team? Wouldn’t they want to make the same runs, play the same passes, and get in each other’s way?

Ross always maintained that while Leadbitter was happiest patrolling the space in front of the back four, Cattermole was more than capable of excelling in a more advanced position. A catalogue of evidence compiled over the last nine years suggested otherwise, but since returning from injury in the middle of last month, Cattermole has justified his manager’s assertions.

The Teessider will never be a creative fulcrum, threading intricate passes through to a frontman, or a dynamic ‘number ten’ making searing runs into the box. The bedrock of his game will always be a crunching challenge in the centre-circle or a driven pass out wide to spread play, but with Leadbitter behind him, he appears to be enjoying the increased freedom to adapt his approach.

He is relishing the chance to break into the box, as evidenced by Saturday’s composed first-half finish which made it five goals for the season. By way of comparison, it had taken Cattermole eight years to score his three previous goals in a Sunderland shirt.

“I think Lee is more than capable of getting goals,” said Ross. “I mentioned when I first started playing him and Grant together that there was maybe this misconception that Lee was just a sitting midfielder, when actually he has got a willingness to get into the box.

“He has a hunger to get on the end of things in the box, and he has the ability to finish as well, so it’s been brilliant for him.”

Cattermole’s opener at the weekend capped a first-half display that was as good as anything Sunderland have produced all season.

Playing against a Plymouth side that had lost just one of their previous ten matches, the Black Cats were completely dominant, with the only downside to their performance coming courtesy of their failure to add to Cattermole’s 32nd-minute strike.

At the start of the year, Sunderland were grinding out results without ever looking totally convincing. The Gillingham win felt like a corner had been turned, with the subsequent away victory at Bristol Rovers showcasing the kind of authoritative dominance that should really be expected of promotion hopefuls.

Saturday’s performance was another step forward again, with the Black Cats brushing Plymouth aside with consummate ease.

From a position where a host of starting spots were up for grabs, Ross suddenly finds himself with the majority of his first-choice line-up set in stone. The centre-half positions remain something of an issue, and Lewis Morgan is embroiled in a tussle with Lynden Gooch for a starting role on the right-hand side, but Luke O’Nien has cemented his spot at right-back, Cattermole, Leadbitter and Honeyman are firmly established at the heart of midfield, Aiden McGeady impresses every week on the left and Will Grigg is smouldering away nicely in attack. Injuries and suspensions will force an occasional alteration, but the team for the run-in appears to have emerged.

“We’re playing well, so it becomes easier (to pick your best XI),” said Ross. “Rather than having in your head, ‘That’s my best team’, it’s more that the team are producing good performances and that makes your selections easier.

“There was a little period – not counting the home games because I thought, by and large, we played well in them – when we weren’t playing brilliantly and it was about trying to find the right blend when you’re not playing well.

“The reality at the moment is that we’ve got players in possession of the jersey and they’re actually playing well individually and collectively. If you stripped it all back on Saturday and looked at how they all played individually, I don’t think you could say any of them had a poor game.”

They certainly gelled effectively before the break, with only Kyle Letheren’s goalkeeping heroics keeping Plymouth in the game.

The Pilgrims shot-stopper saved Jimmy Dunne’s header, turned McGeady’s goal-bound effort around the post and held on to a point-blank effort from Grigg as Sunderland carved out a succession of chances.

Morgan and O’Nien proved especially effective down the right-hand side – the latter has been a revelation since switching to full-back full-time – and it was no surprise that when the opener eventually came, it originated from the right flank.

Morgan’s cross took a hefty deflection, and Cattermole took full advantage as he held off the attentions of two Plymouth defenders to rifle into the roof of the net.

Plymouth rallied briefly at the start of the second half, and might have had a penalty when Gary Sawyer’s shot appeared to strike Tom Flanagan’s arm, but Sunderland never really looked troubled and after Grigg glanced a close-range header wide, Honeyman settled things with three minutes left.

Duncan Watmore couldn’t control McGeady’s cross from the left, but the ball broke kindly for Honeyman to sweep home his sixth goal of the campaign.

“As a manager, you don’t often get those days when it all comes together as complete as that,” said Ross. “I thought we were very good in the first half, the only frustration was that we weren’t further ahead.

“The other pleasing thing was how resilient we were in the second half though. We looked compact and comfortable.

“They carried a threat, they’ve been on a good run and they’ve got terrific players and when you’re only a goal ahead and they have players like (Ruben) Lameiras and (Graham) Carey, who I know well can produce anything from 40 yards out, you just never know.

“But in terms of the overall flow of the game, I felt a lot more comfortable than I have in recent times because we had a lot more control of the game both in and out of possession, which is important for us.”