'I was still agitated' - Roy Keane talks Sunderland regrets and reveals what he should have done

Roy Keane has revealed his regrets whilst at Sunderland and spoken about what he would have done differently.
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The former Manchester United legend took over as Sunderland manager with the club second bottom of the Championship in 2006.

The Republic of Ireland man then masterminded the Wearsiders’ promotion back to the Premier League as champions after an incredible run of form at the end of a memorable campaign.

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Keane then managed to keep Sunderland in the top-flight the following campaign before resigning the season after.

Roy Keane during his days as Sunderland manager.Roy Keane during his days as Sunderland manager.
Roy Keane during his days as Sunderland manager.

Speaking to Gary Neville about his time at Sunderland, Keane said: “When I went into management, Sunderland were second bottom of the Championship but Sunderland was a great club for me

“So I go to Sunderland for example, we may as well start there. We get promoted, down to the players mind.

“The players done brilliant and I got good backing and good recruitment. We stay up in the Premier League.

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“And I remember we stay up in the Premier League and I’m still kind of like I see managers now when they stay up and they get carried around the pitch.

“I remember in the dressing room and being a bit agitated that we could have done better. And the season we left we were averaging a point a game in the Premier League and we were in the quarter-final of the League Cup.

“But I was still agitated. I thought we should be doing better. So that was my lack of experience. I wish for example that I’d maybe rang somebody like Terry Venables or somebody for a bit of advice.

“And they probably would have said to me, ‘You’re doing fine, you’re doing well, relax’.

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“When we stayed up the first time with Sunderland, for some stupid reason I thought we would then automatically go up another five or six places, which is madness.

“When I see teams now when we do the TV stay up we say they’ve done brilliant but what’s the priority next year? It’s about survival for the first three or four years, we see that with any team.”

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