Keane tipped for managerial return with Sunderland

Matt Stead

Roy Keane has been tipped for a return to management with former club Sunderland – if they suffer Premier League relegation.

Sunderland are currently bottom of the Premier League, with the gap to safety now five points.

David Moyes has struggled to keep the Black Cats afloat since being appointed manager last July, and former player Stephen Elliott believes the club should change managers if they are relegated.

Elliott believes Keane would be the perfect candidate for the job, despite the current Republic of Ireland assistant’s last managerial post ending in 2011 with Ipswich.

‘If they do decide to change the guy in the dugout again, there’s one man who is screaming out for the position in my view,’ Elliott wrote in his column for sportdec.com.

‘I was at the club when they were last relegated to the Championship, it was a similar situation to the one they face now. There was real doom and gloom around the club.

‘Roy Keane came in and like a saviour, he lifted the whole place in an instant.

‘Just over 10 years after his first step into management, I feel it’s the perfect time for Roy to get back in the hot seat.

‘I think the club could do worse than give him the reigns again. I think the club need somebody that will get the supporters coming to the games with a belief and a spring in their steps again. I’ve no doubt that Keane would do this and more.

‘I feel the club would be getting a much better manager the second time round.

‘He has spent the last few years as second in command to both Paul Lambert at Villa and now to Martin O’Neill with Ireland. I’ve no doubt he has learned an awful lot from these experiences, especially during his spell with Martin.

‘One thing’s for sure, Roy would get a huge reaction out of the team. As anybody who has played under him will agree, you automatically have a desire to impress him.’