Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany has been accused of deliberately trying to take out Everton ace Tim Cahill last week.

Cattermole believes Kompany deliberately tried to injure Cahill, an admission he made in an interview yesterday.

The Sunderland captain, who was defending his own reputation, said: "You see some tackles and you wonder. Look at Kompany on Cahill the other day (during City's 2-0 win over Everton on September 24 - he just went straight over the ball into someone's shin. I've never done that in my life.

"I'm not a dirty player - I'm just an honest player, but maybe that's the way football is going at the moment."