'He's up for it' - Lee Cattermole delivers verdict on Michael Beale's tenure as Sunderland head coach

Former Sunderland favourite Lee Cattermole has delivered his verdict in Michael Beale's tenure so far and Sunderland's decision to appoint him as head coach.

The ex-Rangers and QPR boss took over at the Academy of Light from the popular Tony Mowbray and endured a tough start to life on Wearside after several bad results and an outburst regarding fans to the media.

However, after some patchy form, Sunderland have taken four points from their last two Championship games against Stoke City at the Stadium of Light and Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

"I think the appointment, being up there and connected to the club," Cattermole told Sky Sports ahead of the Middlesbrough game last Sunday. "I think everyone expected when Mowbray went that they were going to go probably foreign. I know Will Still was mentioned a bit and that got the fans quite excited.

"The appointment of Beale, I don't think the form has really changed. I think the style of play has changed a little bit. I went to the Hull game at home and Sunderland could have won on the night very conformably but the style of play was very robotic. They played in front a lot and they didn't get in behind. One thing Tony did do was get the team attacking really well.

"I think Beale would have looked at that. I didn't see the Stoke City game but by all accounts they were a lot more threatening going forward. I think it is like any job, whether you are a player or a manager, you have to prove yourself all of the time. Beale will be up to that. He has been at Rangers. He has been at QPR and he has been with Steven Gerrard a lot."

After breaking into Boro’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.

"He is the leader of the club. It is a big club. 40-odd-thousand every week and there is a demand on them but for me, they have to be pushing to get back in the league and that has to be the challenge," Cattermole added. "There's a lot of talk about the model and things like this we hear. I see the club inside a little bit now and for me, the only things the fans see is what happens on a Saturday at 3pm or a Sunday at 12pm. That's the bit you've really got to get right. Listen, it is a big job for him and I'm sure he's up for it.

Cattermole, 35, 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 after making 395 senior appearances in all competitions during his 15 seasons as a professional footballer before his retirement back in 2020.