Football journalist Luke Edwards has been speaking on the BBC Football Daily podcast on the potential appointment of Roy Keane at Sunderland.
The former Sunderland manager has been linked with a possible return to Wearside following the sacking of Lee Johnson just over a week ago.
Will Keane lead SAFC to automatic proomotion?
Yes
No
And the need to find a replacement quickly was emphasised on the weekend as the promotion hopefuls fell in embarrassing fashion against the side rock-bottom of the League One table, Doncaster Rovers.
The Irishman featured on ITV’s coverage of the FA Cup on Friday just hours after it was claimed he had held talks with the Black Cats over the vacancy at the Stadium of Light.
And with Keane refusing to comment on the specifics of a potential return to Sunderland, his body language did suggest there was some truth in the reports, with Edwards left encouraged.
He said: “All said with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. This excites me, I’ve got to be honest.
“I think it’s a great fit. One of the things that occurred to me about Sunderland – this isn’t to discredit the job that Lee Johnson did, because I think he actually did a pretty good job at Sunderland – but Lee Johnson was a manager for League One Sunderland, to get them out of League One.
“If they get Roy Keane, he’s not going to accept that Sunderland are a League One football club. He’s not going to accept that it’s good enough to finish third or sixth or whatever, get in the play-offs. He’s going to drive up those standards.”
TIF Thoughts on Roy Keane’s potential Sunderland return…
Sunderland have slipped down to fourth in the League One table after the weekend’s unexpected defeat in front of their own fans – piling the pressure on finding Johnson’s successor.
And it seems Keane is certainly in the running to get the job, with the 50-year-old stating live on air: “We’ll see how things take shape over the next few days.”
There is no let-up in Sunderland’s fixtures, with trips to Cheltenham Town and AFC Wimbledon coming up this week, which could potentially offer Johnson’s successor with the perfect chance to get six points under their belt against the struggling pair.
And we think the possible appointment of Keane could bring a big boost to players and fans ahead of these two games, with Sunderland only a handful of points from dropping out of the play-off spots.
In other news: ‘Have been in the process’ – Journalist reveals big changes behind-scenes at Spurs