Cattermole: New signings have stomach for relegation scrap

Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole is delighted with the club’s January transfer business and said the new boys have arrived with the right appetite for a relegation scrap.

Manager Sam Allardyce was a busy man throughout January, bringing in Wahbi Khazri and Lamine Kone to aid the club’s Premier League survival bid, and both have looked shrewd additions thus far.

Khazri scored the first goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Manchester United, while Kone’s no-nonsense defending was crucial to the result which has put Sunderland back in touching distance of the teams hovering above the relegation zone.

“We have let a few go but importantly the boys who have come in have come in with a fantastic attitude,” Cattermole said.

“They have come in and have looked like they really want to be here, which is not always the case. It’s not always the way it is for whatever reason. But they have been fantastic.

“It’s credit to the lads who were already here for making the new boys feel welcome straight away.

“Their attitudes have been fantastic since they came in. We had four new lads out there who have settled quickly.

“They have brought something extra to us, as well as a lot of French. We are having some good banter with them all. It’s given everyone a lift.

“We are building on the last two performances. We knew we had put Manchester City under a lot of pressure and we didn’t want United to come here and get into the flow of the game.

“The whole game was played at our tempo. We were putting the pressure on them.”

Cattermole will join his team-mates in Dubai as Allardyce looks to lighten the mood in the camp ahead of a crucial Premier League run-in, which starts with a trip to West Ham.

“We have the week off. It will be nice to get away and the new lads will be there. We can all refresh and hopefully go down to West Ham and get a result,” he said.

“Sometimes when you are performing like we are then you don’t want the break, but the break is coming and we can’t do anything about that now.

“We have to enjoy it and come back and make sure we start again where we have just finished.”