Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole believes he is being targeted by referees and is adamant that he is not a dirty player.
The former Middlesbrough man has picked up five red cards in as many years, a lack of discipline which has seen him lose the Black Cats arm band to John O’Shea.
However, he insists he is being victimised by referees, and says he is determined to improve his reputation.
“In the past it’s my stupid mistakes that have got me that reputation, now it’s up to me to lose it,” he said.
“But it’s hard when I get soft yellow cards. Referees are out there waiting for me at the moment.”
“I can’t sit here and blame everyone else. It does affect your game but it’s something I’ve got to address.”
Cattermole not only believes his reputation goes before him in games, but also claims he has only ever made one bad challenge in his career.
“If you look at every foul I’ve ever made I’ve probably only made one bad tackle in my career and that was against Scott Parker when I played for Wigan and I’ve spoken to him since then,” he said.
“The others are all genuine efforts to win the ball but it’s the way football’s going right now.’
The 23-year-old believes it is not just referees to blame either, and feels his opponents make life difficult for him by going down softly.
During Sunderland’s 2-2 draw at home to West Brom, the midfielder was lucky to stay on the field following a studs-up lunge at West Brom’s Steven Reid, after receiving a yellow card earlier for a foul on the same player, one which Cattermole believes was harsh.
“It wasn’t a foul. I’ve watched it several times,” he added.
“He’s 6ft 4in and rolls around like a girl. People whine about foreigners diving, but he’s a British-born Irish lad.”
