Keane: No rush for new contract

Roy Keane will put discussions over his long-term future to the back of his mind as he seeks the extra “steel” required to move Sunderland up the Barclays Premier League table.

Keane expressed satisfaction with his side’s gutsy 1-1 draw at Wigan on Saturday then said talk of signing a contract extension at the Stadium of Light was the last thing on his mind.

Keane confirmed: “There have been one or two discussions but my contract situation is not really important this time. The priority is bringing players in and building the team.

“When the club find a time to speak to Michael (Kennedy, Keane’s lawyer) we’ll see what happens. But we’re all so relaxed about it it’s untrue. I’ve got a year left but a year is a hell of a long time in football.”

Keane’s men looked like they could be heading for three precious points after Titus Bramble’s blunder in heading a harmless-looking Steed Malbranque cross into his own net after 13 minutes.

But Wigan roared back and a sustained period of second-half pressure finally told 12 minutes from time when Egyptian striker Amr Zaki extended his phenomenal scoring rate to five in five games by prodding home the equaliser.

Keane was impressed with the performance of his two defensive debutants Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney but said he would be on the lookout for further reinforcements in the January transfer window.

Keane added: “The great teams have got a bit of steel in them. We got turned over here last year and we needed to be stronger than that. That will come from good players and good characters.

“I maybe felt we were a soft touch. Certainly that’s something we need to improve and I’m working on it. It will take time. We’re not a team yet. That will come in the next few weeks and months.”

Keane’s satisfaction at gaining a point was understandable given the performance of a Wigan side who had struck 11 goals in their previous two matches and were clearly in the mood to add more.

Despite long-haul midweek international commitments, Steve Bruce’s men acquitted themselves well after a shaky start and had a catalogue of chances to draw level before Zaki’s late strike.

But boss Bruce – who had no complaints about Lee Cattermole’s 86th-minute sending-off for a second bookable offence – admitted it might have been different had Djibril Cisse made the most of a rare chance for the visitors.

Cisse found himself clean through in the box just past the hour mark but hesitated over his shot and allowed keeper Chris Kirkland to advance and block his low effort with his feet.

Bruce said: “I think we deserved a point but the big turning-point was Cisse’s chance. If he takes that we’re up against it but I think overall we worked very hard.”

After Bramble’s early blunder Wigan rallied well with Emile Heskey seeing a 21st minute effort saved by Craig Gordon and the dangerous Zaki heading a cross from Maynor Figueroa narrowly wide.

Former Sunderland man Kevin Kilbane headed narrowly wide but the home side’s pressure increased after the break, reinvigorated by the 56th minute introduction of playmaker Jason Koumas from the bench.

After Cisse’s near-miss, Antonio Valencia saw a shot blocked by McCartney, substitute Olivier Kapo brought a fine long-range save out of Gordon, and Zaki saw a header graze the post.

Finally Zaki reacted quickest to polish off a Figueroa cross and maintain his amazing start to life in the Premier League, much to the delight of Bruce who prised him away from Cairo club Zamalek in the summer.

Bruce said: “He’s got as good a goalscoring record as anyone in the world and I hope that will continue.

“It will be very difficult for him in the winter because he’s used to playing in 30 degrees in Cairo every week. But he’s got a fantastic attitude and mentality, he’s a great boy and he’s got an outstanding chance.”

Bruce also paid tribute to Honduran Wilson Palacios for his tireless performance despite only arriving back at Manchester airport late on Friday night from his international duty in his homeland.

Bruce added: “I think we’ve found a real player in him. He only just got off a plane and was desperate to play. The flight was horrific – over 20 hours – so it was fantastic to step out there and play as well as he did.”