Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has urged Black Cats midfielder Lee Cattermole to sign a new contract with the club.
The 24-year-old's current deal expires next summer, but O'Neill has reiterated a desire to keep the midfielder at the Stadium of Light.
"Cattermole has been excellent since I came to the football club - and he may well have been before, I don't know about that," O'Neill told the Sunderland Echo.
"He's 24 and he's the captain of the side. Sometimes he needs to keep his discipline better because over the course of the year I expect he'll pick up a couple of silly bookings. I don't want to build him up too much though - particularly as he has a contract to sign here!"
Cattermole joined Sunderland from Wigan Athletic in 2009.
