Roy Keane reckons that Manchester Uniteds never- say-die spirit is
running wild at Sunderland.
Keanes Old Trafford career was typified by countless dramatic
comebacks at the death.
And his Black Cats have already become dab hands at staging their
own late shows.
Their two Premier League games so far have both produced
injury-time strikes.
Sunderland beat Tottenham 1-0 on the opening day of the season then
stunned Birmingham with a leveller to make it 2-2 at St
Andrews.
And Keano, who visits Wigan today, insists the mental toughness
drilled into him by United boss Alex Ferguson has been the key to
his outlook.
He said: At United we had good characters and good players, who
simply wouldnt settle for a defeat or a draw.
You just watch the opposition, you just know theyre thinking
Were coming to get you.
They know it. A lot of top teams will keep going even if it looks
like theyre dead and buried. Theyll pull one back or put you
under the cosh.
Other teams did it, but not as much as United and thats a good
thing to have in your team. We saw our lads do it against
Tottenham. I see it on the training ground.
Theres an edge to those players and I love to see it. They want
to win.
Alex Ferguson brought it out of his men with the hairdryer! It was
the demands he put on you but it also came from the staff, the
supporters and the pride you have inside you. You keep going.
Think of Liverpool in the Champions League final, dead and buried.
And United doing the same in 1999.
You can tell which players have it by their body language, by
their eyes, by their actions.
Its not about what they say, its about what they do. If you keep
doing it, it develops.
The opposition thinks We need to hold on because theyre going to
come after us.
You cant coach or manage that. It just comes with the players and
thats why we keep going on about getting the right characters to
the club.