Roy Keane never ceases to amaze! This really is Roy of the Rovers stuff.

Who would have thought the former Manchester United and Celtic player would make his return to football as the manager of Sunderland? It is understood that the Republic of Ireland legend is set to agree a contract worth £2 million per year to take charge of the struggling Black Cats.

The news is all the more strange since Keane and Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn haven’t exactly endured the best of relationships in the past. Keane will have to report to chairman Quinn, who he has previously called “a muppet” and “a coward”. Keane even branded Quinn “Mother Teresa” in his autobiography after the big striker backed Republic boss Mick McCarthy in the infamous World Cup row where after the former walked out on the Republic days before the 2002 World Cup finals were due to begin in the Far East.  

Sunderland are currently bottom of the Championship table without a point and on Tuesday night were humiliated in the Carling Cup when they lost to Bury. But is Roy Keane really the man to turn around a club so obviously in decline. Can he dispell the negative attitude within the club and restore the winning mentality on Wearside? You’ve got to admire Keane, he never shirked a challenge as a player and now it appears he is stepping into a baptism of fire as a manager. I’m sure he could have started out with a lower league club with less ambition than Sunderland where he would have been able to walk away relatively quietly if things hadn’t gone to plan. But not Keano! This could be the job that makes or breaks Keane’s ambitions to become a football manager at the highest level?