ROY Keane last night urged Sunderland's supporters to "chill out" about a perceived lack of transfer activity this summer, and confidently claimed that "four of five" new signings would be arriving at the Stadium of Light within the next fortnight.

The unheralded Greg Halford and Russell Anderson were the only new faces on display as Keane's squad began their pre-season preparations on Monday, and their arrival merely returned the Black Cats squad to its previous strength following the enforced departure of both Jonny Evans and Danny Simpson this summer.

While a number of Sunderland's Premiership rivals have been splashing the cash, the Wearsiders have pulled out of a proposed deal for Preston striker David Nugent and seen Wigan reject three separate offers for highly-rated full-back Leighton Baines.

But while Keane admits that the current squad is not strong enough to survive a season in the top-flight, he has urged the club's fans to remain patient as he continues to close in on his leading targets.

"The fans just need to chill out and relax, and let me do the job," said the Black Cats boss, who is believed to have made an initial approach to Cardiff as he lines up a surprise swoop for former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra.

"People are getting worried about this and that, but you can't look at what other clubs have got. We've got to look at what we've got, and we have a great foundation to go on and have a good season.

"I'm under no illusions, and I accept that we need to strengthen the squad.

"At this moment, we've got two players who have shown a great desire to come to Sunderland, and I feel that over the next week or two, there will be another four or five."

As well as reaching a £3m agreement with Southampton over Chris Baird - the full-back is expected to complete his move to Wearside within the next 24 hours - Keane has also had a bid accepted for two more players, believed to be West Brom full-back Paul McShane and Manchester United midfielder Kieran Richardson.

Negotiations on both of those fronts are proving problematic, however, with contractual snags being exacerbated by the fact that West Brom are reluctant to release one of their most influential defenders without having a replacement in place first.

In an ideal world, Keane would have completed the vast majority of his transfer dealings ahead of next Wednesday's opening pre-season game at Darlington.

That target now appears unrealistic, but the Irishman is refusing to be rushed into a series of ill-conceived panic buys that could undermine his efforts later in the season.

"At the moment, we have three fees agreed with clubs and talks are ongoing," confirmed Keane.

"But then you're maybe waiting for those clubs to get the one or two players in that they're after.

"It's a knock-on effect and it's a bit like trying to buy a house when someone is waiting to sell there's. You have to be patient.

"You have to keep your head and not just jump into something to please people. If you get players in for the sake of it, I can guarantee that if things aren't going well in a few months' time, they'll be the lads who go missing because they're the lads who weren't even sure about coming in the first place."

"At the moment, things are dragging on because it's out of our hands and it's out of the players' hands.''