Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards is relishing the prospect of Sunderland manager Roy Keane locking horns with his old charge Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea's volatile boss Jose Mourinho next season.

Richards was talking ahead of this morning's release of the Premier League fixtures which will see the Black Cats join their top-flight colleagues for the first time in two years.

While the majority of Sunderland supporters would welcome a new campaign curtain-raiser at home to fierce rivals Newcastle United, Richards says he would prefer a touchline battle between Keane and one of his most passionate adversaries to get the pulses racing.

"The progress Sunderland have made has been fantastic," said Richards, who has been chairman of the Premier League and Football Foundation since 1999.

"The manager has done an incredible job and I think everyone has been impressed by him. He's such a good guy; he's disciplined and he's organised. I would have to admit that I am not at all surprised by how well Roy has done.

"You've just got to look at Roy's background. When he was still playing, at the age of 28, he embarked on the process of earning his coaching qualifications. That gives you organisation and and also shows that he wanted to be a manager.

"Roy has already had a massive impact on the Premier League by the style with which he played with such determination and conviction. Plus he obviously had a fantastic grounding with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

"He has to be ranked among that top echelon of really great players. He will always be there alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Gareth Southgate.

"The prospect of Roy Keane pitting his wits against Sir Alex is a fascinating one - that really would be some game. It's a great thought. It's good that talented young managers are coming to the fore in our game, whether they be British or Irish. It's great for the game and great for the Premier League.

"It will also be an interesting touchline confrontation when Roy comes up against Jose Mourinho. But there are also Rafa Benitez, Arsene Wenger and Martin Jol, who are excellent managers."

Richards, a former chairman at Sheffield Wednesday, also paid tribute to Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn's role in turning the Wearside club around.

He said: "Chairmanship of a football club is a huge responsibility. I have got to know Niall over the years and I know that he takes this role really seriously and approaches it really enthusiastically and I think he's the ideal man for the job and that he will do well.

"That's because he knows about players, he feels passionately about Sunderland and he's also got a tremendous appetite for off-the-field business.

"The mixture of having Roy Keane as manager, Niall Quinn as chairman and the club's shareholders is quite simply a terrific mix.

"I knew him as a player because the Premier League do a lot of charitable work and Niall has always been there for the kids. He's always been a good guy."

Richards also had a few kind words for the much-maligned former Black Cats chief Bob Murray, and backed the club to maintain its top-flight status - something the club have struggled to do since the formation of the Premiership.

He added: "Sunderland and the North-East in general is a hot-bed of football. They are passionate about football up here and the Sunderland supporters deserve to be seeing their team playing football with the best.

"They managed to attract crowds of 40,000 to the Stadium of Light last season and obviously it would be great to see the ground packed to the rafters again in the Premier League.

"People can say Sunderland were the worst club in Premiership history and all that but Bob Murray took Sunderland and built it up.

"He did his very, very best. At the end it didn't work out but the club remained intact and someone came along and picked up the baton and that proved to be Niall Quinn and Roy Keane.

"The formula has proved successful but it is built on great foundations and that is down to their predecessors."

Sunderland, meanwhile, have tabled a £6m bid for Preston North End striker David Nugent.

The Black Cats yesterday made a cash offer for the 22-year-old after failing to make progress with an earlier cash-plus-player proposal.

Nugent is currently with the England Under-21 squad in Holland, so no deal is expected to go through until he returns.