Michael Beale has made Sunderland 'robotic,' says former captain

Lee Cattermole says he is not ready to judge the appointment of Michael Beale yet, but the change in Sunderland's quality of football has been very noticeable.

Former Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole says Sunderland have become ‘robotic’ under Michael Beale, although he has backed the former Rangers boss to get it right.

Beale replaced Tony Mowbray in December and, although results have largely remained similar, there has been a noticeable drop-off in the quality of Sunderland’s football.

That is something that is difficult to judge at the moment, as it may just be part of the process of making Sunderland more pragmatic and efficient, something fans called for under Mowbray.

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Cattermole, who is an academy coach at Sunderland one day a week, has noticed the change in style too, although he is happy to reserve judgement for now.

"I think the appointment, being up there and connected to the club," Cattermole told Sky Sports.

"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 comfortably, 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."

Beale has certainly come under a lot of criticism from supporters since his appointment and for the majority the jury is still very much out.

Cattermole, though, says that’s just a pressure Beale has to accept, although he also noted that it can be hard for supporters to judge given the bulk of his work happens behind closed doors. He also says the same thing goes for those running the club.

"He is the leader of the club,” Cattermole said. “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 [Premier] League and that has to be the challenge."

"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."

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