The tenacious midfielder is poised to face Middlesbrough for the first time on Saturday since leaving his hometown club for Wigan in the summer.

The England Under-21 international struggled to hold down a regular first-team place at Boro last season and opted for a fresh start in the north-west.

Bruce showed just how highly he rates Cattermole by spending £3.5m on the 20-year-old and he has rewarded Bruce's faith by establishing himself as an integral part of the Latics team.

"The gaffer asked me to come in and give the likes of Wilson Palacios and Antonio Valencia the freedom to go and express themselves in the attacking third," said Cattermole.

"I'm quite happy to do the job of being disciplined and giving them a free role, and it's been brilliant here so far.

"Every time I've been available, I've played, and that's what I wanted. I'm feeling good, the team is doing well and it's always nice to be playing in a good team."

Cattermole insists he has nothing to prove to Boro and is confident he can curb his tough-tackling style when the sides clash at the JJB.

He has picked up 27 bookings in 97 first-team appearances and was sent off for the first time in his career in Wigan's 1-1 draw with Sunderland last month.

"I'm not going to try too hard," he said. "It's no different to any other match, so I'm just going to play my normal game.

"I'll make tackles - that's what I do - but I won't be going over the top.

"I don't need to impress Middlesbrough, I need to impress my new boss. I've left there now and this is a new challenge for me."

Cattermole is optimistic of recovering from a slight hamstring strain to retain his place in the starting line-up and is planning to return to his family home after the match.

"I think my family will all be on my side," he added. "Hopefully I'll go back to Middlesbrough with my head held high and I'll be having some banter with my old man if we get the right result. But all that comes after the game."