Keane speaks out - Mackems drag it oot

“I didn’t think it would happen after about two minutes, it was a shambles of a night from start to finish. The players and the fans just thought they could turn up and win a game of football, it doesn’t happen, you have to run around, work hard. I feel anger, frustration, disappointment.

I could think of a few harsher words but you couldn’t print them. It was walking pace, the passing was awful, there was no running off the ball, fans were booing everyone and abusing me at the end. It was one of the longest nights I’ve ever had in my football career. I’ve done my cruciate, been sent off, lost titles, lost cups, but this is up there with them.

I couldn’t wait to see the back of it; it was a bad, bad night. We started the game like it was going to be a walk in the park; we thought we could win the game without trying. My team normally works its socks off, not tonight. How we are in the next round, I’ll never know. It took us 86 minutes to get going. We can’t keep getting out of jail like this. I can’t think of any positives, none whatsoever, but credit to Northampton. You look at my starting eleven, they should have been good enough to win it comfortably.

I regret not playing one or two of the younger players now; they would have done themselves no harm at all. But I brought in some international players and they should have been good enough. One or two of them came to see me last week, saying they need to play games. Well, there you go, have a game, show me something. I don’t think they will be coming to see me this week. We have some brilliant supporters here but you always have one or two idiots and they are the ones you remember. We should be praising Northampton tonight, not Sunderland. I think Nyron has torn his hamstring.”