SLUMBERLAND TO WONDERLAND
ROY KEANE EXCLUSIVE HIS SUNDERLAND ARE WINNERS AGAIN 'I'VE TRIED TO
CHANGE THE MENTALITY HERE' 'FANS LIKE MEN WHO TAKE PRIDE IN
SHIRT'
ROY KEANE glanced at a television in Sunderland's training ground
yesterday and laughed at the sight and sound of him singing in a
Manchester United FA Cup song. Move, Move Move, re-run on a sports
news channel, showed United's 1996 squad bonding, having a laugh,
and growing into a cup-winning team together.
Eleven years on, same determined grin, new club, new career, Keane
the manager, is indeed a man on the move - reawakening a North-East
giant and guiding them towards the Premiership. No song and dance
yet on Wearside, but as Keane admits the momentum is with
Sunderland in the gripping Championship promotion race. He's
changing the mentality of a football club, from "soft touches" to
winners.
Eleven games unbeaten, including nine wins, means Sunderland are
"ready to pounce" and overtake the top two Birmingham and Derby,
should they slip up. Sunderland players turned up to prepare for
tonight's game with Stoke so early yesterday "they had to bring the
milk in" according to Keane - a reference to the incident which saw
three stars left behind for the win at Barnsley because they were
late for the team bus.
Keane's decision to leave behind Anthony Stokes, Tobias Hysen and
Marton Fulop made a ruthless point to his squad. Only the highest
standards on and off the field will be tolerated. It has been a
theme of his six months in charge. "That made us feel nervous on
Saturday. We knew we had to get everything right. It was a signal
for everyone to raise our game," revealed keeper Darren Ward.
It was not the first battle that Keane has won. Bad eggs in the
squad have been weeded out and sold, professional standards raised,
and team spirit built on and off the pitch. From the moment he took
charge, from the smallest detail to the big picture, Keane has been
making changes. He's had pictures of Sunderland legends and moments
of glory put up around the place to stop it "looking like just any
club".
He's also had a scout watching an under-nines game and made sure
players wear the regulation jacket badge and tie when on club duty.
Players are installed in hotels before home games. Keane has a new
staff with specialists in all aspects of training, instead of the
previous regime of the physios taking charge of everything.
The ice baths that used to be wheelie-bins have been replaced with
proper kit. Lights were brought to help the Stadium of Light pitch
grow on the very day Keane requested it of chairman Niall Quinn. As
well as the discipline, there has been fun, with adventure days
out, paintballing, go-karting, assault courses and white-water
rafting.
Keane said yesterday: "I'm trying to change the mentality of a lot
of things here. Like stopping it being a yo-yo club. Maybe players
felt you could be late for training, or they didn't have to train
hard all the time. "Maybe some thought they could get two or three
weeks out of an injury that should only take a week to mend. Like
taking days off left, right and centre.
"I had these vibes when I got the job, that things needed to
change. We needed to remember what this club is about. Am I
enjoying it? Maybe ask me at the end of the season. But it's a
challenge, it's what we're in the game for. "You want to be at the
top, that's where the challenge comes. There's a spirit there. My
priority was to get a good staff around me and build a team spirit,
and the lads here have definitely got something.
"You can't put your finger on it, but there's a togetherness, a
desire amongst them. You want to be involved in a team that gives
100 per cent if you have that togetherness, you've got a chance.
"And that is what supporters want from their club. People with a
pride to pull on the shirt."
Sunderland's run has given them a shot at promotion but nothing is
guaranteed. Behind the scenes the sums are being done. It could be
that 22 points from the last 27 will clinch automatic promotion.
Keane said: "It's better than when I got the job when we were near
the bottom and people were saying we had to win every game then.
We've been in a must-win situation since August, so it's no
different.
"Look at Derby's and Birmingham's run-ins, they're in pole position
so we've just got to keep going. "Players enjoy it if it's a tight
race. We live in the real world, especially in the Championship,
where it's tight and it's tough.
"It's good for the neutral maybe, not so much managers and
supporters. The next nine games are going to be tough and the hard
work is still to come. That's what we're in the game for." The
prize is a £35million pot of television cash but Keane said: "What
drives me? Certainly not the money. Success drives me more than the
financial reward, of course. But we can't look too far ahead.
"I don't look at the league table very much. It's hard sometimes,
especially on a Sunday when you've got five kids you don't get
time. The kids are looking at the table, not me. "You get sucked
into it whichever way you turn. You can stare at it all day but
it's not going to change unless you win games.
"Some of the staff have looked at it when they've had spare time
and they've been on the internet checking up past leagues and what
we might need." Don't bet against Keane pulling off the miracle.
Like the song said: On the Move, Move Move.
They have become a hard lot of b*****ds under Keane
'It is his destiny. He is throwing the kitchen sink at this job.
Total commitment. He has gone about it in a methodical
manner.'
- NIALL QUINN, SUNDERL AND CHAIRMAN
'They have become a hard lot of b*****ds under Roy Keane. He
doesn't take life easy. He is a winner and he's restored the
greatest buzz around the place in 40 years.' -
- CHARLIE HURLEY, SUNDERL AND LEGEND
'The big change now is that everyone is on their toes. People
respect him. It is like being in the presence of your mum or
granddad... you wait for him to speak, and when he does you
listen.'
- NYRON NOSWORTHY, PLAYER
'After the last few years he has restored the buzz in the place.
The home games are electric. Since Niall and Roy Keane came in it
has be en jumping again. Before they came something was
missing.'
- JIM MONTGOMERY, SUNDERL AND HERO
