RICKY Sbragia last night expressed his disappointment at Roy Keane’s sudden departure from the Stadium of Light, but Sunderland’s caretaker manager insists his players will have recovered their focus by the time they face Manchester United this evening.

Former head coach Sbragia will take charge of the Black Cats at Old Trafford, with assistance from Neil Bailey and Dwight Yorke.

The former York and Darlington centre-half admits he was shocked by Keane’s exit, but claims it will be business as usual when Sunderland take on the Premier League champions tonight.

“It was a big surprise,” said Sbragia. “I didn’t know until (Thursday) morning. We knew he (Keane) was mulling things over, but (Thursday’s) news was not expected, it was very sudden.

“We are sad to see him go.

Roy Keane was part of the reason I came to Sunderland, and I wish he had stayed.

“Niall (Quinn) spoke to me and asked if I would take over in the short term, and it’s not a problem.

“Niall spoke to the players yesterday and put them in the picture. They were upset, but we have a game on Saturday and we have to be focused and prepare properly.”

Having coached with Sunderland in the late-1990s, Sbragia spent three years at Old Trafford as reserve-team coach from 2002 to 2005. He helped bring through the likes of Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher, but left to become first-team coach at Bolton in October 2005.

He was appointed jointcaretaker boss of the Trotters when Sam Allardyce departed in 2007, but rejoined Sunderland’s coaching staff last November.

“I never thought I would be in the dug-out at Manchester United managing a Sunderland team,” he added. “When I left Sunderland to go to United, I thought it was an honour and a privilege.

“I had three great years there, I was only enticed away because of the chance to do first-team coaching, otherwise I feel I would still be there.

“I don’t think Sir Alex (Ferguson) will be worried about me, to be honest. He’s a great manager and great person as well. All I can say is when I was there, he was fantastic to me.”

Sbragia will be without Richardson today, as the midfielder is serving a one-match ban. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon will also be absent after he aggravated an ankle injury in last weekend’s defeat to Bolton.