Strong finish vital insists Keane

Sunderland boss Roy Keane has urged his players to give him the firepower to make a major impact in the summer transfer market by ending the club’s yo-yo existence.

The Black Cats could officially end their season-long fight for top-flight safety tomorrow with a fourth successive victory as Manchester City head for Wearside.

That would represent a solid achievement for last season’s Coca-Cola Championship winners, but for Keane only another step on the way to his long-term vision for the club.

The Irishman, who has invested £44million of the Drumaville consortium’s money in strengthening his squad since securing promotion, will hope to spend heavily once again during the summer.

However, he knows that all the money in the world – he has mentioned, with tongue only slightly in cheek, that he would like £50million this summer – will count for little if he can not attract his top targets to the north east.

But he believes that process can be eased by a strong finish to a campaign which has seen his side steadily improve as injuries to key players have abated.

Keane said: “It’s so important if we are going to attract players this summer.

“It was always going to be tough last summer because when we were trying to sign players they were always going to look at Sunderland and see Sunderland very much as a yo-yo club.

“That’s something I got my head around, I understood that 100%.

“Obviously, the more we can stay in the Premier League and try to get stronger, the better for the club as a whole for the future.”

Last weekend’s 3-1 win at Fulham eased Sunderland 10 points clear of the drop zone and effectively ended their fears of being dragged into the scrap at the bottom of the table.

But Keane was swift to insist that neither the fight for safety nor season are over, and whatever happens at the Stadium of Light tomorrow, that is a stance he will maintain until the last ball is kicked on the final day of the campaign.

He said: “You are always playing for something. There is always something at stake when you are a footballer, most importantly, your pride.

“You cannot relax in this game. I have said it before.

“That’s why I have said for the last few months when people have said, ’Have you got a points total?’, no way, because what if we got to 38, 39 and we were safe?

“Does that means that’s it, we go away on holiday then? You don’t, you try to get as many points as possible.”

Sunderland returned to the top flight with their manager adamant they were not simply there to make up the numbers and determined to make an impact, although Keane’s intentions have been hampered by long-term injuries to the likes of Kieran Richardson, Carlos Edwards and Dean Whitehead.

However, their form in recent weeks has perhaps hinted at what might have been, and Keane is expecting more of the same during the remaining weeks of the campaign.

He said: “We can still have an impact between now and the end of the season, and I still believe come the end of the season will be the time to judge the team.

“I think we have contributed decently to the Premier League, but we hope even more so between now and the end of the season.”

As well as trying to attract new players, Keane will spend several days of his summer in New Zealand watching the All Blacks train as part of his UEFA Pro Licence studies, and he is relishing the opportunity.

He said: “I have always been intrigued by the All Blacks and I have managed to get an opportunity to watch them training – that’s all it is, it is nothing more than that – and watch them in a Test match and try to plug into what they are all about.

“I am looking forward to the trip, I have to say.”