Sunderland learn their lesson

A half-time history tutorial from Roy Keane provided the knowledge and inspiration for Sunderland to suggest they are at last ready to leave behind the Premier League’s equivalent of dunces’ corner.

It is safe to say the club have been slow on the uptake since the inception of England’s elite level 16 years ago. In that time, Sunderland have suffered three relegations, twice establishing humiliating record-low points totals of 19 and 15.

Before this game, back-to-back Premier League wins had eluded them since December 2001 and, with all those damning facts and figures in mind, Keane used his interval team-talk to urge his players to learn the lesson of the Wearsiders’ past failings.