Roy Keane has done what he never did as a player and admitted defeat.
Keane threatened it after the weekend’s humilation by Bolton and on Thursday the Irishman decided enough was enough as he and Sunderland parted ways.
His comments after the debacle of the 4-1 defeat by Bolton suggested he would walk away if he thought it was in the best interests of the club and considering his ghost writer Eamonn Dunphy’s suggestions this week that Keane ‘had lost the plot’ – the writing was on the wall.
The 37-year-old, who was appointed manager at the Stadium of Light in August 2006, leaves the Black Cats struggling in the relegation zone after a string of poor results.
He led Sunderland into the Premier League in his first season in charge while his debut year in the top flight resulted in a 15th-placed finish.
He has been backed to the hilt by chairman Niall Quinn and spent over £70million but things have not gone according to plan and the former Manchester United star has called it a day.
Already failed ex-Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has become the football odds compilers favourite, but his appointment hardly inspires confidence and his disastrous spell on Tyneside will not endear him to the Wearside faithful.
The other usual suspects have been mentioned with Alan Curbishley, David O’Leary and Gerard Houllier all short in the betting, but Quinn will certainly have his work cut out trying to find an able replacement.
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I liked him, even though I am a Liverpool fan. His post match talks were always very honest, if a little dull. I just think he spent too much money and didn’t really strengthen in the right areas, now they are left with average players and undoubtedly a massive wage bill.