Ex-Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Wigan star 'actively speaking' to clubs regarding coaching role

Former Sunderland man Lee Cattermole has stated that he his 'actively speaking' to clubs about a potential return to coaching.

After breaking into Middlesbrough’s first team aged just 17 against local rivals Newcastle United, Cattermole joined the Latics before moving on to Sunderland in 2009 for a fee of around £6million under former manager Steve Bruce.

The battling midfielder spent 10 seasons on Wearside, eight of which came in the Premier League, before the Black Cats suffered relegation in consecutive seasons, leaving the club stranded in League One.

Cattermole then moved on to Dutch outfit VVV-Venlo and cemented himself as a fan favourite before Covid-19 hit and derailed his time on the continent.

The club decided against renewing the midfielder’s contract and Cattermole announced his retirement from playing after nearly 400 appearances. The 35-year-old has been working towards his qualifications for some time and has experience working at his hometown club Middlesbrough with the youth teams and first team

Cattermole was also recently linked with the Hartlepool United job before Kevin Phillips' eventual appointment at The Vic but says he is keen to get back into coaching whilst appearing as a pundit on Sunday afternoon.

"Yeah, I would love to be,” Cattermole said when asked about a return to coaching on Sky Sports’ post-match show after Middlesbrough vs Sunderland. “Obviously, I have been out of it a little while after leaving Middlesbrough but actively speaking to people and looking for the right opportunity.

“But yeah, I miss it and it is what I want to do, so I am looking forward to it, getting back into coaching,” Cattermole concluded.