Bristol Rovers add Sunderland AFC hero to aid Matt Taylor | OneFootball

Bristol Rovers have appointed Lee Cattermole to their coaching team. The former Sunderland midfielder will focus on set-pieces.

Former Sunderland stalwart Lee Cattermole has joined Bristol Rovers as a first-team coach, and the Gas will hope his experience can help guide them further away from the relegation zone.

Cattermole made 271 Premier League appearances, which he earned predominantly with the Black Cats, but also during spells earlier in his career with Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic.

As per the Bristol Rovers club website, the Gas have appointed him to focus on the development and implementation of set pieces, while the club sit just two points above the relegation zone.

Bristol Rovers appoint Lee Cattermole to coaching role to assist Matt Taylor

Upon his appointment at the Memorial Stadium, Cattermole said: "I am delighted to join the coaching team at Bristol Rovers.

"Having spoken to the guys here and George Friend, I very quickly got excited about the project being developed here at the club.

"Everything I’ve heard about Bristol Rovers tells me it’s an exciting time to be part of things here, and I’m looking forward to getting going."

Cattermole was previously the Under-18s lead coach at Middlesbrough from 2022-2023, and also served as a part of Boro's four-man interim management team who oversaw five games between the sacking of Chris Wilder, and the subsequent appointment of current boss Michael Carrick.

His new role with the Gas therefore is his first full-time role as a coach at senior level, and is a big opportunity for the former England youth international who looks to establish himself in the world of coaching after hanging his playing boots up back in 2020 following a brief stint with Dutch outfit VVV-Venlo.

Bristol Rovers have a tough run ahead of them as they fight to get away from relegation zone

Rovers boss Matt Taylor will be hoping that Cattermole's appointment to his coaching team will help galvanise his players with immediate effect, ahead of a tough run of fixtures up ahead.

On Saturday afternoon, the West Country outfit face a trip to high-flyers Birmingham City, who are vying for an immediate return to the Championship, and are on a three-game winning run in League One, and a five-match winning streak across all competitions.

Therefore, come the weekend, the Gas will have to be at their very best against one of the best outfits the third tier has on offer, in order to pull off an unlikely result on the road.

After their visit to Birmingham, Taylor's men then play host to Wrexham, who are also right in the mix in terms of the battle for promotion, and will look certain to provide tough opposition.

Following back-to-back encounters with two of League One's current top-three sides, the Gas will then hope they can get the better of Taylor's former club, Exeter City, while Cattermole's introduction to life as a third tier coach could hardly prove tougher with such tricky fixtures during the coming weeks.