Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill says Lee Cattermole remains his captain.

The midfielder was sent off against Newcastle United.

"I was asked a few weeks ago if I thought I had cured him, and I'm afraid I stared into the abyss on that one," said O'Neill.

"Listen, on a serious note, it was obviously very disappointing for me to go into the dressing room and see a rather dejected-looking Stephane Sessegnon, to be followed by the news that the captain had been sent off.

"I thought I must have missed the last five minutes, but he was sent off at the end of the game.

"He has been absolutely fantastic, really fantastic when he has played for us. The West Bromwich Albion game apart, he has been really terrific.

"I am told he has taken on the role of the captaincy and does a lot of things here that I wasn't aware of, really good things around the football club like getting players to particular functions.

"It's very disappointing and he will have to try to learn from that because they are major games he is missing at a very, very important stage of the season. There's no getting away from that."