Lee Cattermole keen on Sunderland and Middlesbrough transfer deals after being named as Gateshead manager
Former Sunderland and Middlesbrough midfielder Lee Cattermole has been named as new manager of National League club Gateshead.
New Gateshead manager Lee Cattermole is keen to work with former clubs Sunderland and Middlesbrough as he looks to add to his squad ahead of his first season in charge of the National League club.
Cattermole was named as successor to former Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot on Tuesday afternoon after holding talks with the Heed’s interim chairman Graham Wood over the last fortnight. Several players have departed Gateshead since the end of last season and talks are still ongoing with influential winger Harry Chapman and former Sunderland and Hartlepool United defender Kenton Richardson, who worked with Cattermole earlier in his career.
However, with 14 contracted senior players, there is a clear need for new additions to the Gateshead ranks and The Echo understands a number of potential signings have already been put to the club in the aftermath of Cattermole’s arrival. The Tynesiders have become renowned for helping young players develop during loan spells at the International Stadium in recent seasons - and Cattermole has admitted he could look to his former clubs to continue that trend as he embarks on his own managerial career on the south bank of the Tyne.
Speaking after being unveiled as new Heed boss, Cattermole said: “I think it’s down to so much stuff in terms of where these players are at. Who is available, who is not available. What the academy directors think, what the clubs think, what their agents think. I’d like to think they will trust us and know they will be in good hands. We will carry on whatever development plans they have for their players and we will communicate as much as we can.
“They would be coming into an environment where there is lots of care and lots of challenge. They’ll enjoy it because that challenge point is crucial for me as a manager. It’s about how can we challenge and support them at the right level on the right days. That excites me as a manager because they know it will be tough but they know why it will be tough. You shouldn’t rule anything out - but I’m not even 24 hours in so we will see.”