Sbragia has look of a haunted man

A three-goal hammering at the hands of the Premier League’s bottom club would be galling enough at the best of times for Sunderland.

But for it to coincide with the triumphant second coming of Roy Keane into management, albeit in the dark underbelly of the Championship, must have represented the ultimate ignominy for Ricky Sbragia and his chastened players.

As the Scot looked on helplessly from the away dug-out, the Wearsiders’ 3,000-strong travelling contingent would have been forgiven for thinking what might have been had Keane not deemed his relationship with the club’s board irreparable.