Keane wants Connolly and Murphy to deliver

ROY KEANE is calling on Irish strike duo David Connolly and Daryl Murphy to provide the firepower for a concerted Sunderland promotion push.

Manager Keane says his side are lacking a clinical scorer like Preston’s David Nugent, whose solitary goal at the Stadium of Light put a major dent in the Black Cats’ hopes of automatic promotion.

England U21 international Nugent, a £5m target for Middlesbrough who were represented at Saturday’s game, grabbed his eighth goal at club level this season and third in as many matches to leave second-placed Preston 10 points clear of Sunderland.

Connolly and Murphy have nine goals between them - the latter is joint leading scorer with fellow Irishman Stephen Elliott on five.

But Keane, reflecting on his side’s defeat, stressed: “We didn’t do enough in the attacking third. Nugent is a good player and he just needs one chance. He got it and he took it, so credit to him. I think he would get goals in the Premiership.

“In any league, if you look at teams near the top, they usually have one or two people who are in great form or scoring in double figures. Birmingham have it and Preston have it and I think if you want to be successful you need to have somebody who is on fire in front of goal. “I think we have the potential for that in terms of David and Murph, but you’re always looking for a bit more and these players need the service as well.”

Keane, however, refused to be downcast as his side’s four-match winning home run came to a halt. And he singled out fellow Corkman Liam Miller for special praise in Sunderland’s midfield. “I thought Liam was outstanding,”,’ said Keane. “But I couldn’t fault any of the players. I thought they gave everything they had.”

Sunderland also face Preston in the third round of the FA Cup at Deepdale on Saturday, and Keane admitted: “They have a great chance of being promoted. They are a well-organised side and make it hard for you.”

Meanwhile, Nugent is driven by a desire to prove that Liverpool were wrong to reject him as a youngster.

He said: “I definitely think I could handle life in the Premiership.

“I was at Liverpool for seven years until I was released at the age of 14 because they said I wasn’t good enough. That has spurred me on. That knock-back definitely inspired me to prove people wrong because a setback like that as a kid obviously isn’t nice.”