The second coming of Roy Keane

Feared by friend and foe alike as a player, the Irishman has surprised many with his managerial style since taking over at Sunderland. With his team now top of the League it appears to be working. Simon Turnbull reports

Wednesday, 11 April 2007

Bookmark & Share

What are these?

Now that Roy Keane has dragged Sunderland from the depths of the Coca Cola Championship to the top position in the race for promotion to the Premiership, do not let it be said that the retired midfield warrior is bucking the traditional trend of great players struggling to achieve greatness in management. Not within his earshot, at any rate.

The received football wisdom was put to Keane on his first day as a manager. "Well, that's fine, because I was never a great player," Keane answered. When the questioner begged to differ, Keane responded: "Well, what do you class as a great player? What did you class Pele as?" "A great player," came the reply. "And you'd put me in the same bracket as that?" Keane demanded. "Well... not far off," the questioner replied. "Nah, nah," Keane said, shaking his head and smiling knowingly. "You see? Nah, nah. I don't fall for that."

Right from that opening day, which Keane spent subtly knocking down many of the preconceived notions about him, it was clear that Sunderland were getting the antithesis of the bluff, blustering Ron Manager. In the seven and a half months that have followed, the 35-year-old novice has been the consummate Ronseal Manager. The arch pragmatist has been doing what it says on his tin...

In the process of transforming Sunderland from serial losers (beaten in 28 of the 34 league games prior to his arrival) into serial winners (victorious in 23 of the 37 Championship matches they have played under him) and in reaching the summit of the second flight with a 2-1 win at Southampton on Monday night, Keane has duly stripped away his one-dimensional, cardboard cut-out image.

Keane has revealed himself as a character far removed from the beast who would strap on his Red Devilish mad-eyed mask whenever he pulled up for work as a player at Old Trafford. There have been occasional glimpses of the cutting Keane glare from pitchside when passes have gone astray. But not very often.

Behind the scenes at the Academy of Light, Sunderland's state-of-the-art training complex, and at the Stadium of Light, their rapidly refilling ground, Keane has been the epitome of quietly-stated charm. In his dealings with the media, he has been frank, disarmingly self-effacing and laconically witty. It is clear, too, that he has been blessed with a keen intelligence.

He also appears to be happy, eager even, to put the past behind him, including past grudges (and as a player he had a reputation as one who nursed grudges rather than sought to defuse them). Even Mick McCarthy, the Irish manager with whom he fell out so spectacularly at the 2002 World Cup, has been forgiven.

Last Saturday at the Stadium of Light, when the final whistle confirmed a 2-1 victory for Keane's Sunderland against McCarthy's Wolves, Keane stepped from the shadow of the home dug-out to offer a handshake and a consoling pat on the arm to the one-time magnet of his ire. More than that, he offered the warmest of welcomes to McCarthy in his programme notes. "I think Mick did a very good job at Sunderland," Keane wrote. "Obviously it didn't work out at the end but it shouldn't be forgotten that he got Sunderland promoted with lots of goals and I think Sunderland fans will give him a very good welcome, which is what he will deserve. He is doing a very good job at Wolves."

Then again Niall Quinn, the Irish player who sided with McCarthy in Saipan, was the Sunderland chairman who brought Keane to the club in the first place. As a manager, Keane was always going to take a scrupulously professional approach to the preparation of his players. He was also always going to expect, let alone demand, the kind of commitment that he showed in maximising his own talent on the field as the three players who failed to turn up on time for the trip to Barnsley last month - Anthony Stokes, Tobias Hysen and Marton Fulop - were quick to discover.

"Three players were late for the bus so we left them behind," Keane explained. "I was disappointed with them. You've got to respect your team-mates and be on time. If you can't be on time, you're not going to play. If it was in any other line of work, you would have to turn up on time. If it was in a factory you would be docked some pay or even fired." As Keane observed with some satisfaction, they were "in with the milk" for training the following week.

It has attracted less attention but is probably just as significant that the three players involved in a "bedroom romp" that hit the tabloid headlines earlier in the season - Ben Alnwick, Liam Lawrence and Chris Brown - have all since been transferred.

"I think most of the players are aware of what's required from me," Keane says. "That's for the players to be disciplined, to train well, to give 100 per cent for the team. The one or two lads who I think haven't been prepared to do that, I've got rid of them. I want players here who will run through brick walls for each other."

If Keane's response to those who have upset him might have been expected, the praise he has heaped on the others has been something of a surprise. Notoriously demanding of himself and others as a player, he has mellowed in the manager's chair.

"Since Christmas they've been fantastic," he said recently. "They've given me their all. I feel very lucky to be working with them. They're taking on board what myself and the staff are trying to do - that is to get a winning football team. We don't want to be doing things half-measured. We want to get that winning mentality in the players and they've plugged into everything we hoped they would do."

More predictable has been Keane's commitment to the job. As might have been expected it has not taken him long to become wedded to his new profession - something his wife discovered when they went out for a meal shortly before the game against Barnsley last autumn. "All I was thinking about was Nyron Nosworthy, Stan Varga, Clive Clark and Danny Collins," Keane revealed afterwards.

In addition to the Keane mentality, the Keane class has become increasingly evident in Sunderland's rise. For much of the game at Southampton on Monday their control and passing was of the highest order - as were the goals struck by Carlos Edwards and Grant Leadbitter.

Keane, it would seem, has fashioned a side of some substance. He has made a fine blend of some shrewd signings (such as Dwight Yorke, David Connolly, Stern John and Edwards), two outstanding loanees (Jonny Evans and Danny Simpson of Manchester United) and - with the help of coaches Tony Loughlan and Neil Bailey - some significantly improved inherited players, not least of them Nosworthy.

Formerly a right-back of questionable distinction, Nosworthy has been a revelation since Keane switched him to the centre of defence. Keane's rationale for the move was typically simple. "Now that Nos has switched to centre-back, he's got much less time on the ball. Which is best for all concerned." McCarthy, who signed him, was impressed. "Nyron never fancied playing centre-half for me," he said. "Obviously Roy's ability to coerce somebody to play out of position is better than mine."

Not that Keane will be milking such compliments. He might be showing some signs of similarity to Brian Clough, his first manager - not least a propensity for galvanising a hard-working, well-organised team - but unlike Clough he has no discernable trace of an ego. Note the absence of a Manager of the Month presentation on the pitch last Saturday. Or after the final whistle, for that matter.

The studious, sharp-suited figure who stands calmly in front of the home dug-out at the Stadium of Light has the air of a manager who is going places. Old Trafford next season is likely to be one of them.

Roy's revolution: 23 wins in 37 games but never the same starting XI

Seven and a half months in, Roy's Revolution continues to be a transformation by degrees. After 37 league games (23 wins, 7 draws, 7 defeats), Roy Keane has yet to name an unchanged starting XI.

There has been a constant rotation of resources (and, more often than not, an astute one). Significantly, there has been a consistency of late at the back.

The platform of Sunderland's unbeaten run in the league this year (now up to 16 matches) has been built from a back four that has been unchanged for 11 games now: Danny Simpson at right back, Jonny Evans and Nyron Nosworthy in the centre and Danny Collins at left back. Darren Ward, in goal for eight successive games now, has added further stability.

Of the team that Keane watched beat West Bromwich at the Stadium of Light on 28 August (selected by Niall Quinn) the day before his unveiling as manager, only two started at Southampton on Monday: Tobias Hysen and Stephen Elliott.

Of the team Keane picked for his first match in charge against Derby on 9 September, only two started against Southampton: Liam Miller and David Connolly, two of the 10 signings (plus two loan players) with which he has created his winning makeover.

Ins and outs: Keane's buying and selling

Player/From/Fee/Date/Apps

Dwight Yorke, Sydney FC, £200,000 Aug 06, 25 (4)

Stanislav Varga, Celtic, Undisclosed, Aug 06, 20

Ross Wallace, Celtic, Undisclosed, Aug 06, 19 (10)

Graham Kavanagh, Wigan, £500,000, Aug 06, 10 (4)

Liam Miller, Man United, Free, Aug 06, 23 (6)

David Connolly, Wigan, £1.4m, Aug 06, 27 (5)

Marton Fulop, Tottenham, £500,000, Jan 07, 3

Carlos Edwards, Luton Town, £1.4m, Jan 07, 11

Anthony Stokes, Arsenal, £2m, Jan 07, 5 (5)

Stern John, Coventry, Undisclosed, Jan 07, 9 (2)