Clinton takes a Keane interest

Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison claims it is no surprise that Roy Keane is starting to make waves in management.

Morrison will come face to face with his former Ireland colleague when Keane’s Sunderland side visit Selhurst Park this evening.

The Black Cats are in a buoyant mood after a seven-match unbeaten run which has seen them climb to 11th in the Coca-Cola Championship table, just three points short of the play-off places.

Keane has had a huge impact at the Stadium of Light, as Sunderland had lost four of their five league matches before he took over.

Morrison said: “Roy is a leader on and off the pitch. He always wanted players to do it his way.

“When I go away with Ireland, I speak to some of the Sunderland players, and they are a bit nervous about going into Roy’s office to ask why they are not in the team.

“But they have all said that training has been brilliant.”

The 27-year-old frontman said of Keane: “He is the only person in football to have made me afraid.

“But I got on well with him when we were with Ireland – surprisingly, because I have a bit of a big mouth and Roy doesn’t normally like those types of players.

“But he is a top bloke and is probably the best player I have ever played with. He helped me a lot with my game.”

In contrast to Sunderland, Palace are struggling. They have not matched their pre-season expectations this term, and are 17th in the table, 11 points shy of a top-six place.

Morrison believes the Christmas and New Year fixtures will determine the outcome of Palace’s season.

They also have festive fixtures at Southampton and Cardiff, as well as a home match against Norwich.

“The next four or five games will shape our season,” said Morrison.

“If we don’t pick up many wins, it looks as though we will be stuck in this division for another season.

“There have been more low points than high points. We have been losing stupid games, and it has not been up to scratch.”

Palace expect to have striker Dougie Freedman and defender Danny Butterfield back from injury.