Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand is adamant that the club's players are behind captain Lee Cattermole, even though the former Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic star has been sent off twice already this season.
Former West Ham United star Ferdinand was handed the captain's armband when Cattermole was dismissed in the 22nd minute of last weekend's 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic.
Cattermole is banned for this weekend's game against Arsenal, with Ferdinand saying:"When it happened, you could see in his face how gutted he was. I spoke to him before he went off and just told him to keep his head up.
"Catts is a fantastic player and everyone can see what he brings to the team - his competitiveness and enthusiasm are why the manager made him captain.
"Sometimes he lets it boil over, but he wouldn't be the same player if you tried to take his competitive edge away from him. He deserves to be captain. He's only young and he has a lot of time to learn. For me, he's still the right choice.
"I picked up the armband when Catts went off at Wigan because I was the nearest. Every time I've captained this football club I've enjoyed it but, in my eyes, Lee is the right man for the job.
"But in the meantime, over the next two games against Arsenal and my old club West Ham, I'd be very, very proud to captain the side."