Sunderland legend Roy Keane has reminisced on the defeat that started Premier League “rollercoaster” during final season as Black Cats boss.
Although Manchester United legend Roy Keane spent just over two years as Sunderland manager, his time on Wearside was as iconic as his tough-talking style.
Keane was appointed as Black Cats manager for the 2006/07 Championship season, taking over from chairman Niall Quinn’s interim tenure, with the club languishing in the relegation zone.
After some stellar recruitment, professional standards never seen so high at Sunderland, and leaving behind ill-disciplined players from team coaches, the Black Cats became second tier title winners under Keane.
Upon their return to the Premier League, Keane experienced first-hand the jump in quality between the two leagues and has reminisced over which defeat in the Sunderland dugout was the most humbling in the early stages of their return to the Premier League promised land.
Roy Keane reveals humbling Sunderland defeat
Optimism was rife on Wearside in the wake of Sunderland’s title-winning return to the top flight. Championship manager of the year Keane had masterminded the club’s revival, and was now tasked with ensuring Sunderland’s top flight survival.
Despite a rocky start, Sunderland’s form in the second half of the season improved and their survival was secured with two games to go during the 2007/08 Premier League campaign under Keane.
In light of newly-promoted Southampton being instantly relegated from the Premier League with eight games to go, Keane was asked by fellow Sunderland icon Jill Scott how he managed to keep the Black Cats up and deal with the pressures of the jump to Premier League football.
Keane told the Stick to Football podcast: “My mindset when we were up at Sunderland, I’m thinking to start the Premier League, I was thinking we need a good start.
“Our first game, my first week as manager Sunderland in the Premier League, we had three games. We had Spurs at home, Birmingham away, Wigan away. We beat Spurs at home 1-0, (Michael) Chopra scores in injury time.
“So, beats Spurs, it’s three points already when you think if you’d be looking to average a point a game, so up we’re up and running and we go to Birmingham and we score in the last minute to draw and get a point.
“So four points out of two games, I’m going ‘It’s not too bad this Premier League, I’m not too sure what the fuss is about’. We go to Wigan on the Saturday and I’m thinking Wigan, we beat Spurs, we draw with Birmingham, Wigan I think beat us three or four nil, and it could’ve been ten, that was Wigan.”
Keane would depart Wearside the following season, with Sunderland sat in the Premier League relegation zone, as his harsh management style and side’s inconsistent form major causes for concern over potential demotion.
Despite Keane’s departure mid-season, he’s still revered as a Sunderland legend for his short – but certainly sweet – time in the Black Cats dugout. His final comment on that Sunderland season also bodes welcome advice for current boss Regis Le Bris, if the Frenchman oversees their promotion this term.
Roy Keane’s advice will be welcomed by Regis Le Bris
Former Black Cats boss Keane knows all too well the gulf in class between the two leagues for newly-promoted sides to contend with, an ever-growing rife issue in English football which is under the microscope currently given the collective misery of Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester this season only months after the elation of Premier League promotion.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 31 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 31 | 65 | -34 | 20 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 31 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 25 | 70 | -45 | 17 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 31 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 23 | 74 | -51 | 10 |
Two months into their top flight return, Sunderland were hammered 7-0 away to Everton, after which Keane admitted was “one of the lowest points” of his illustrious football career.
Of his Sunderland tenure after those three opening fixtures, Keane added: “You’re already on that rollercoaster of how tough it is. So for me think we’ve had a really great start, we’ve only got four points after three games, so these teams you have to get some sort of foothold in the Premier League.”
The Red Devils icon rightly admits that the “foothold” is key to Premier League survival, which the Saints particularly failed to grasp by attempting to play their high-possession style that was so successful in the Championship, but couldn’t replicate that after promotion.
Le Bris’ Sunderland outfit however, are different. With slightly less focus on ball retention, but harder to beat defensively while being devastating on the transition, with moments of magic always on the cards from creative outlets Enzo Le Fee and Chris Rigg.
If Sunderland earn promotion this season, their Premier League survival next term would be a monumental mountain to climb, but the way Le Bris has molded his Black Cats side bodes some whispers of encouragement for their potential return.