Keane taking nothing for granted

Roy Keane has said his side need to show Northampton respect if they are to progress to the fourth round of the Carling Cup tonight.

Sunderland are 3/10 favourites, against 7/1 being offered for their League Two opponents, for the third-round clash at the Stadium of Light.

But Keane is warning his players they must not underestimate the Cobblers – or they could face the same embarrassing cup exit which Bolton endured against Stuart Gray’s side four weeks ago.

Northampton may be struggling in the league – fifth from bottom after taking just six points from seven games – but they secured a shock 2-1 win at the Reebok Stadium with two goals from striker Adebayo Akinfenwa.

“It’s not just about respecting your opposition, it’s about respecting their manager and their supporters, too,” said Keane.

“There are a lot of managers in the lower leagues with lots of experience and Stuart is certainly one of them.

“We’re not in any position to be taking anyone for granted. We want to go into the game in the right frame of mind, and we can’t afford to underestimate Northampton, they have nothing to lose tonight.

“League form goes out of the window and they’re coming off the back of a 2-1 win over Bolton in the last round, so we know that we will have to give nothing less than 100% if we’re going to win the game.”

Keane says Sunderland need to make the most of being handed a home draw after their 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest, and says a strong cup run can only benefit the club.

“This competition can be great for clubs and with the home draw we’ve got to see ourselves into the hat for the next round,” said Keane.

“A lot of decent teams were knocked out in the last round and they would love to be in our shoes and in the third round, we have to make the most of it.

“There’s still a very long way to go in the competition. Some of the big boys have joined at this round and we’ll hopefully have to come up against them later down the line, but that will be harder again.

“A good cup run creates a buzz around a football club. There have been arguments for and against this competition over the years, but the big plus for me is just being in the next round.

“Winning football games is always a plus. We managed to get through a tough game in the last round at Nottingham Forest.”