Player challenge all part of Keane’s learning process

8:42am Saturday 30th August 2008

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ROY Keane insists he’s relishing the challenge of taming Sunderland’s growing array of ‘bad boys’.

The Black Cats boss has shrugged off concerns among supporters he is storing up trouble for himself in the form of summer signings El- Hadji Diouf, Djibril Cisse, Anton Ferdinand and Pascal Chimbonda.

Sunderland’s £20m quartet have all endured well publicised off-field problems, but Keane claims he isn’t worried in the slightest by the large amount of baggage that accompanies his high-profile stars.

Cisse earned a police caution for hitting a teenager in 2005, Ferdinand was cleared of assault charges last year, Diouf is a hate figure with rival supporters for spitting at fans and opponents, and Chimbonda left Wigan officials furious when slapping in a transfer request minutes after the end of the season two years ago.

Keane has already clashed with Chimbonda – laying down an early marker by leaving the former Tottenham defender out of a playing return at White Hart Lane after he missed a team bonding session before last weekend’s win.

But the Irishman insists he thrives on handling dressing rooms packed with big characters, and said: “Whatever happened at their previous clubs is none of my business.

Part of the challenge of being a manager is to deal with different characters.

“If I think I’m going to have a long and successful career without facing different characters I’m kidding myself. I’ve not been put off by player’s reputations, look at all the managers who’ve been successful and they enjoy the challenge of different people.”

Ferdinand is ruled out by a hamstring problem following his £8m move from West Ham, but Cisse should make his home debut against Manchester City tomorrow. After a playing career that saw him no stranger to controversy, Keane insists he doesn’t want a squad full of angels.

Keane, who has not completely given up hope of landing West Ham left-back George McCartney, said: “You have to learn from mistakes, we’ve all made them but what’s happened is in the past and I can’t talk about what a player has done at his previous club.

“With the lads who’ve come in, I take it how I see it. Conflict has never been a problem to me. I challenge people, I eyeball them and say ‘you’ve taken your eye off the ball’ and I’m comfortable with doing that. I have to let people be themselves in terms of what drive and how they dress and give them the freedom to do what they want as long as it doesn’t affect their football.

People talk about these so called characters because they’re flamboyant and they dress differently, but they still want to win.”

Keane’s role as Sir Alex Ferguson’s dressing room enforcer at Manchester United helped hone his skills in bringing shirkers into line, but his steely will to win meant he was having run-ins long before that.

He added: “I saw a lot as a player and I dealt with it a lot as a player. At United it was a strong dressing room and if a player took his eye off the ball they were told.

“As a player I dealt with many players one to one if I thought they weren’t pulling their weight. If I didn’t step in another senior player would.

“I’ve always had that with me. I fell out with people when I was eight, nine, ten years old, with people who didn’t train properly. I fell out with a good friend of mine when we were kids because he wouldn’t go training one night. He wanted to go out on his skateboard instead.”

Sunderland are without a victory over City since Don Hutchison scored the winner in 2000, a statistic Keane will look to address on his second anniversary in charge.

Steed Malbranque is ruled out by an ankle injury, while Kieran Richardson and Teemu Tainio are doubts, but striker David Healy has overcome a knee problem to be named in a squad which includes just three players who figured in the manager’s first game in charge at Derby County in 2006.

Meanwhile, Dickson Etuhu last night sealed a £2m switch to Fulham. Despite claiming Keane wanted him to say, the 26-year old is being allowed to leave with the Irishman eager to balance the books following a busy summer which has seen nine arrivals.

Etuhu said: “It’s been the hardest decision of my career.

I had a chat with Roy Keane and he didn’t want me to go and he tried to convince me to stay but Fulham’s a good move for me. I’ve been out for six months and want to move on and play and be closer to my family in London.

“I want to thank Roy Keane for giving me a chance to play in the Premier League, it’s been a dream come true and a pleasure to play for Sunderland but I want to come home to London where I grew up.”