Roy Keane will extend
his contract at Sunderland this summer, if the club can match his
ambition. The Wearside boss is hoping to take another giant step
towards Premier League survival with a win against West Ham today
and claim the club's first back-to-back wins in 126 games in the
top flight dating back seven years.
Staying up will allow
chairman Niall Quinn and his Drumaville consortium to kick on to
the next level by adding to Keane's £40million spending spree. But
Ireland legend Keane only has a year left on his deal and wants to
unlock the club's "massive potential" in the coming years.
He believes it is "an insult"
to suggest that Sunderland is a managerial stepping stone. The
Black Cats are expecting a 45,000-plus crowd at the Stadium of
Light today that could take their crowd average for the season
above Liverpool to become the fourth-best supported club in the
land, behind only Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle.
Keane, whose side have taken
24 points out of 30 at home to sit four points above the drop zone,
said: "I've got another year on my contract and am I happy at
Sunderland? Very happy.
"If there's going to be any
contract talk it'll be in the summer. In the summer I hope
Sunderland can match my ambitions. We'll find that out then. If we
can stabilise then we can go on to the next level. I'm optimistic
about that. Sunderland is not a stepping stone for me, that would
be an insult. People should not worry.
"If I'm speaking to players
this summer, then they'll need to know we're heading in the right
direction. We're going to get 45,000 against West Ham, imagine if
we were doing well... you wouldn't be able to get a ticket. "If we
can stabilise in the Premier League, then people keep asking medo I
want to carry the challenge forward? But I have to ask the people
who own the club the same question: 'Are we prepared to go to the
next bar?' It works both ways.
"If I was ever to leave
Sunderland then where would I go. There's not many bigger
challenges. I've been a manager two minutes and I'm lucky to be at
such a big club. "There's not a minute of any day goes by where I
don't think of Sunderland and where we can get to. We're getting
44,000 on a regular basis and we're near the bottom of the league.
The potential is fantastic. "The whole football club could take off
and I am the man to do that. Others have tried and had bits of
success, promotion. But promotion wasn't success for me, it was a
stepping stone.
"As a reminder of how far
we've got to go, it's 126 games since Sunderland had back-to-back
wins in the Premier League. I'm not a great stat man but that's
amazing. "If there's been a yo-yo club it's Sunderland and these
stats back that up. We have a chance to change that between now and
the end of the season."
Keane has got Alan
Curbishley's vote of confidence. The Hammers boss reckons the
Irishman will drag Sunderland to safety and turn them into a
Premier League superpower. He said: "Their home form has been
terrific. From the moment Roy went there they have gone from
strength to strength. "They have invested heavily. They are clearly
looking at survival this year as a success and then they can build
on that."
