WITH Roy Keane set to make a raft of changes for this evening's promotion battle at Southampton, Ross Wallace has claimed that the Sunderland manager's decision-making qualities have played a crucial role in the club's surge up the Championship table.

After being left out of Saturday's 16-man squad entirely, Dwight Yorke, Tobias Hysen and Anthony Stokes are all likely to be involved as the Black Cats look to take another giant stride towards the Premiership by winning at St Mary's.

Leading scorer David Connolly is also expected to start on the south coast after making a brief substitute appearance against Wolves, with Keane extracting the maximum benefit possible from one of the largest playing squads in the division.

The Sunderland manager, who is yet to name an unchanged side since replacing Niall Quinn last September, has consistently confounded expectation by shuffling his pack at every available opportunity.

And as a 15-game unbeaten run proves, the vast majority of his gambles have paid dividends in spectacular style.

"Do I ever think like we're working with a genius? Yes, sometimes," said Wallace, whose second-half header on Saturday made it two goals in the last two games. "Maybe he's still learning a bit, but everything he does seems to come off.

"He left Stokes and Yorke out (against Wolves) and we managed to win without them. Now, they'll be desperate to be involved again and I would expect them to play against Southampton.

"We have a lot of players so you know that when you get your chance, you have to take it. That's the kind of drive and determination that Roy Keane showed as a player, and it's certainly rubbed off on the players.

"The gaffer's brought a lot of things in behind the scenes and brought in his own staff as well. He's changed a few bits and bobs, and tweaking a few little things has made a difference.

"I think the speed that things have turned around has surprised some people, but when you've got Roy Keane as your manager, he's obviously not going to settle for anything but the best."

That means automatic promotion to the Premiership, and Sunderland will climb to the top of the Championship table for the first time this season if they win at Southampton and Derby fail to overcome Coventry at Pride Park.

Having scored eight goals in their last two matches to climb back into the play-off places, however, the Saints will offer a particularly tough test as they look to maintain their own promotion push.

Wallace knows all about Southampton boss George Burley following his time in the Scottish Premier League with Hearts, and the midfielder fully expects the home side to come out with all guns blazing as they take the game to Sunderland tonight.

"Southampton are a very good team and this is going to be a really tough test," said the Scotsman, who scored Sunderland's goal when the two sides drew 1-1 at the Stadium of Light last November.

"I know George quite well from his time in Scotland. He did really well with Hearts and the thing that really stuck out was that he had them playing really good football.

"You could see that side of their game when they got a draw up here earlier this season, but we'll go there full of confidence and belief.

"At the moment, it's all about holding your nerve and, in that respect, the team is a reflection of the manager. We're playing under his instructions and, so far, they seem to be working out well."

Full-back Danny Simpson will undergo a late fitness test after injuring his foot in Saturday's win over Wolves, while Liam Miller and Daryl Murphy are expected to be available despite complaining of dead legs in the wake of the weekend's win.