Former Sunderland defender recalls how his departure helped bring unlikely end to famous feud

Neill Collins has recalled how his Sunderland exit led to one of football's most infamous feuds being called to a halt.

The former Sunderland defender, now in charge of Barnsley as they push for promotion from League One, has been remembering the club's remarkable turnaround under Roy Keane in an interview with the Yorkshire Post.

Collins was a key player in the first half of the campaign, as an initially dismal run gave way to a resurgence under new boss Keane that would eventually lead to promotion.

Collins said: "We lost our first four games in the league, then went to Bury who were bottom of League Two and got beaten 2-0 and I'm thinking, 'We're never going to win a game again!'

"Then Roy Keane came in and we won the next three on the bounce, I think.

"It shows momentum in the Football League's crazy. Roy Keane came in and straight away everyone's on their toes - we win against West Brom, we won against Derby away, we went to Elland Road and won and he signed a lot of top players. It didn't happen immediately but in January it just took off and they got promoted.

"I think that's the kind of thing maybe a club needs at that moment of time, whether it's a player or a manager, you need a spark and I think Roy at that time gave the club a spark."

Collins would leave the club to join Mick McCarthy's Wolves on loan in November, with the defender eventually going on to make the switch permanent. The talks to get the deal done were the first time that the two former Sunderland bosses had spoken since their infamous fall out in Saipan ahead of the 2002 World Cup.

Collins played an important part in the initial turnaround from a dismal start, scoring in a win against West Brom as Keane watched on from the stands days before his appointment.

"That was a great day," Collin said.

"Roy Keane was one of my heros growing up and when he came in I thought, 'He won't know me but he'll know a lot of our players' - he'd have played with Kenny Cunningham and some of the other bigger names. I felt like I was starting and I'd have to make an impression.

"I played against John Hartson that day and did well, then got the goal. It was a good day to get that win after a bad start to the season. It was a funny one because I ended up going to Wolves on a permanent transfer and it was the first time Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy had spoken since Saipan. It was quite strange as someone who grew up following Roy Keane and if you told me then the reason he'd speak for the first time to Mick McCarthy would be me, I'd be quite taken aback.

"It was just a good thing to see how quickly things can change in football.

"In pre-season we won every game under Niall, didn't lose a goal, then lost the five games, then went on another run. Nothing's done until it's done in the Football League."