Manchester United legend Roy Keane has officially signed a contract to become the manager of Championship side Sunderland.
The former Manchester United captain agreed to a three-year deal with the Stadium of Light side. Brian Kidd was largely rumoured to be Keane’s head coach, but that post now goes to Leicester’s Tony Loughlan.
According to the Sunderland club website (quotes from Niall Quinn):
“This represents a major coup for our football club.
The fact that one of the most influential figures in world football is willing to come here should make all the Sunderland fans very happy and excited for the future.
Roy Keane’s standards of professionalism are legendary and his desire and determination to succeed are precisely what this club requires.
Let’s all support and enjoy one of football’s true greats as he embarks on what we all hope will be a fantastic new chapter in Sunderland Football Club’s rich and proud history.”
Roy Keane says goodbye to Old Trafford and Manchester United
Roy Keane was at the Stadium of Light for Sunderland’s Championship game against West Brom on Monday (Sunderland’s first league win of the season) and signed the deal soon after the match. He is expected to be formally unveiled at a news conference on Tuesday having been introduced to the Sunderland squad on Sunday.
After winning – what – 13 titles with Manchester United, Keano will have to greatly lower his expectations with the Sunderland side, whose first goal will be to get some stability in their performances now that they have registered their first win and are off the bottom of the table.
Keane was lucky enough to be coached by some of the best managers in the world (Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United) and Sunderland fans will be hoping that he can transfer that knowledge and experience to their faltering side.
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