Former Premier League hard man midfielder lands interim job at League One club – just days after joining as a set-piece coach

Former Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole will take charge of Bristol Rover on an interim basis just days after joining the League One side as a first-team coach. 

The 36-year-old made 272 appearances in the Premier League over a 15-year professional career that also included spells at Wigan and Middlesbrough, where he made his senior debut. 

Cattermole retired in 2020, while playing in the Netherlands with VVV Vento and returned to his boyhood club to begin his coaching career  with a stint as Under 18 boss before his departure in February last year. 

He will now take interim charge of Bristol Rovers alongside David Horseman after Matt Taylor was sacked on Monday, with the club languishing just above the League One relegation zone.

A club statement read: ‘Bristol Rovers FC can confirm that manager Matt Taylor and assistant manager Wayne Carlisle have been relieved of their first-team duties.

‘The club would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Matt and Wayne for all their hard work during their time with Bristol Rovers, and we wish them both every success in their respective future careers.

The 36-year-old made 272 Premier League appearances in a career that included spells with Sunderland, Wigan and Middlesbrough

Matt Taylor was sacked with the club languishing just above the League One relegation zone

‘David Horseman and Lee Cattermole will take interim responsibility for first-team football duties while the club undertakes a thorough recruitment process for a new first-team manager.’

Upon joining Bristol Rovers as a set-piece coach last week, 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.’

Bristol Rovers suffered their third consecutive league defeat without scoring on Saturday, losing 2-0 at second-placed Birmingham, to leave them two points ahead of the bottom four.

Ex-Rotherham manager Taylor, who has spent just over a year in charge of Rovers, recently returned to work after taking a leave of absence because of a family emergency.