Catts: It’s going well - but nothing achieved yet

LeeCattermoleisdelightedto be helping Sunderland climb towards promotion - but warns the side have achieved nothing yet.

The midfielder went nine years without scoring at the Stadium of Light, but has now netted in back-to-back home games.

Cattermole’s latest strike was the opener in a 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle, which saw Sunderland keep up the pressure on the top two in League One.

“I thought it was going to be a real special day,” he admitted.

“The way we played first half was outstanding, I think it’s as good a 45 minutesaswe’ve played barring Scunthorpe at home where we really played well.

“We could have been three or four-nil up at half-time. We knew it was going to be difficult in the second half. They’ve come a long way from Plymouth and we knew the manager would get into them and make sure he got a response. “From the level we were at in the firsthalf, we probably didn’t reach that, but we dug in and ground the result out.” A big talking point from the victory was Cattermole’s fifth goal of a season which has seen him make important contributions at both ends of the pitch.

And while pleased to find the net again, the 30-year-old is focused on helping the side achieve three points rather than his own contributions.

“It’s funny how things happen, isn’t it?” he joked.

“It’s not something I’ve really focused on throughout my career but the way the game was going in the first half, I thought I could start getting in the box a little bit more. We were so comfortable and getting in some good areas.

“We had a little switch, started getting forward more and I’m delighted to be scoring goals and helping the team.

“Mainly it’s about getting three points, it’s important now that we keep clean sheets because we’ve got so much quality in the team to create chances.”