THE best years of Lee Cattermole's career should still lie ahead of him, but if there is one thing the tenacious captain can assure supporters of it is that his drive on and off the pitch will always be there in abundance.

Cattermole's first love is football, always has been and, he says, always likely to be, and he has an early eye on stepping up to coaching and management once his playing days are over.

But, still seven years short of his 30th birthday, he is not in a position to have to seriously think about that just yet, so much of his spare time is spent on the golf course improving his handicap.

Cattermole currently plays off four - ‘he's better than that' said his close friend Matthew Bates, the Middlesbrough captain, this week - and has been hitting the beautiful Close House course most days since moving to Tyneside recently.

He has also been a regular at Rockliffe Hall and Wynyard over the years, while his love for golf started well before that.

He used to play at Dinsdale Spa as a teenager and, ultimately, it is those years that have led to him becoming such a regular on the fairways now.

"I always played golf as a kid. I was living in Stockton and it was only up the A66 and I used to go up with my dad," said Cattermole.

"My dad's mate from work played there, that's how I ended up going there. I spent a lot of time there but it was never something I totally dedicated myself to, like I do football. I never practised golf, I was just natural at it. Lately, I've practised a bit more. I find it more interesting now than I ever did as a kid. Then I just did it because a few of my mates did it and it was quite fun. Now I'm really into it. I really do enjoy it.

"I tried fishing but it didn't really happen for me. I need to be a bit more active.

"It definitely helps having something to do after training, but you've got to try to resist going all the time, you do need to get your rest, which is why I only play at the start of the week and I try to get on a buggy if I can. I've had a few lessons but not that many."

Footballers playing golf is not unusual, in fact it is something which tends to go with the territory. There are a few that tend to be exceptional, and Gary O'Neil even talked about trying to qualify for the Open after holding the course record 67 at Rockliffe during his time at Middlesbrough.

Cattermole is not about to go down that route - yet. He does, though, admit that playing golf more competitively could appeal to him further down the line, if he does not go down the intended route of coaching.

"Sometimes I'm really into it and sometimes I can play once a month. I fall out of love with it, then suddenly I play a few rounds and I'm mad on it," he said.

"I'm only 23, it depends how things pan out towards the end of my career.

"You never know, a lot of people fall out of love with the game the longer they spend in it.

"There's a lot of benefits from football - it pays well and it's good for you to be around all the lads, but there's a lot of other stuff that comes with the game that isn't good and I don't really enjoy.

"Then again, I would like to go into some sort of coaching. I've obviously got some sort of leadership in me so I just have to see how I feel towards the end of my career and where I am, whether I'm up here or somewhere else in the country. It's too far away to say."

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce will be looking for Cattermole's leadership strengths to be in full flow this afternoon, when Chelsea travel to the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats are in need of a good result after failing to win any of their opening four matches, including an extra-time defeat to Brighton in the Carling Cup and a Wear-Tyne derby reversal.

But Cattermole points to last November's heroic 3-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge as an indication of what is possible in the Premier League.

"It was a massive performance, it's definitely up there in my career as one of the best," said Cattermole. "It was a massive result on the day and a bit of a shock to everyone.

"Every pass we made seemed to go to our player and we opened them up. It could have been more.

"It was a nice way to bounce back after the Newcastle game and that's what we're looking to do now. It was a good draw down at Swansea and hopefully that will prove to be a good point."