Keane warns players of perils of indisipline

Roy Keane has told his bad boys not to come running to him when they cannot get their places back.

The Sunderland boss will send out his team at Manchester City on Monday night with defenders Paul McShane and Greg Halford both back on Wearside due to suspensions for red cards.

With midfielder Dickson Etuhu also having had to sit out the 2-1 home defeat by Blackburn after picking up five bookings in his first eight games for the club, the injury-hit Black Cats have paid a heavy price for indiscipline on the pitch.

However, Keane, who earned his fair share of bans as a player, has warned his players that sitting out games is only the start of the punishment.

He said: “You constantly speak to the players, but ultimately, the player will suffer anyway.

“Players will complain about not being in the team or not getting a run, but if you are getting suspended every two minutes, you are not going to get that run.

“Players make decisions on the pitch and, sometimes, there is no logic to it.

“But when you are young, you do make mistakes. I am not here to crucify the players, I am just constantly reminding them.

“But then when they are suspended and they cannot get back into the team, sometimes for a few months, then you say, ’Well, it’s your own fault, so don’t come and annoy me about it’.

“We just constantly work on the players, but in the position we are in, we certainly cannot keep going down to 10 men and expect to get results.”

McShane completes his three-match ban, incurred for a lunge at Arsenal’s Alexander Hleb on October 7, on Monday and will be available for the derby clash with Newcastle in the Barclays Premier League next Saturday. Halford will also miss the Magpies after his two yellow cards last weekend.

The problem for Keane is that the former Reading and Colchester man was filling in for McShane at right-back, leaving his manager with a major headache as he heads back to Manchester.

Skipper Dean Whitehead, who has also been used as an emergency full-back in recent times, is back in training after a knee injury, but still way short of match fitness, and that could mean either a reshuffle or taking a major gamble on teenager Michael Kay.

The 18-year-old is yet to make a senior competitive debut for the club, although Keane insists he would have no problem using one of his youngsters if he felt the time was right.

He said: “I wouldn’t be concerned about any young player if I thought they were good enough.

“Michael was involved in the squad when we played (Manchester) United and if needs be – and we will have a look at them over the next few of days – I wouldn’t have a problem with playing one of the young lads.

“If anything, I am keen to get them involved.”