Blackburn 1, Sunderland 2

Nov 17 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

CONTRARY to the barely-believable rumours that suggested otherwise, Roy Keane remains fully on board with the ‘Sunderland project’.

After guiding the Black Cats to a much-needed victory at Ewood Park, Keane laughed off the scarcely credible ‘reports’ that he had resigned in a fit of pique on Friday. But in truth, he had underlined his commitment to the cause long before he delivered his indignant response to the web-driven tittle tattle that had cast a cloud over his future.

It was there in his visible concern on the touchline as Sunderland floundered during the first half, and in the broad, satisfied grin that greeted Djibril Cissé’s celebration after the striker notched his winner.

Most of all it was there in his half-time intervention – a rousing but antagonistic team talk, according to Cissé – that inspired such a vast improvement in his players after a shockingly-inadequate first half display.

If Keane’s mood wasn’t darkened unduly by Sunderland’s winless run, he will no doubt have recognised the importance of the victory – especially in the wake of the speculation on Friday. Sunderland are understood to be furious at the way flimsy hearsay gained cache after it was reported by a couple of usually fairly credible media outlets. But perhaps the firestorm actually aided the club’s efforts to put their season back on track.

With Keane’s future under fresh scrutiny, the afternoon turned into a referendum on his stewardship of Sunderland. And judging by the long and loud choruses of support from the travelling fans, he passed it with flying colours. Even during a first half in which Sunderland toiled dreadfully – and should have been two or three goals down rather than the single Christopher Samba effort on the stroke of half-time – their faith remained rock solid.

Keane knows that with that kind of support, and a board and chairman committed to his vision for the club, it would be madness to walk away from the Stadium of Light – perhaps the safest job in the Premier League.

Certainly, there remain a sprinkling of problems that will not be solved by a single three-point haul at a ground where teams are winning with alarming regularity.

A defence that, despite an excellent performance from Anton Ferdinand, still creaks under pressure is chief among Keane’s concerns. He will have been troubled at the ease with which Jason Roberts and Roque Santa Cruz were able to exert serious pressure on Márton Fülöp’s goal during the first half. There was a big improvement after the break but there remains the nagging suspicion that Pascal Chimbonda – injured or out of favour depending on which conspiracy theory you believe – would aid the cause if he could get his head right.

Similarly, the presence of El-Hadji Diouf on the bench and the peripheral contribution of Teemu Tainio cast a shadow over Keane’s summer transfer dealings. For a summer investment of £30m, are Sunderland really vastly better off than they were at this time last season? They are, but it will need more performances with the resolve and fortitude of their second-half to prove it.

The return of Kenwyne Jones helps too. He has added an extra dimension to Sunderland’s attacking play and his endeavour and presence have been missed. Blackburn found him unplayable at times and if this is the striker at less than 60% match fitness, the Premier League should consider itself warned.

It was Jones who sparked Sunderland’s comeback, acrobatically notching his second in as many games after Blackburn’s one-time England international Paul Robinson had made a hash of clearing Kieran Richardson’s corner.

Liberated from the fear of failure, the visitors started to attack with conviction and composure. The combination of Cissé and Jones that had seemed ragged and out of sync in the first 45 minutes began to look genuinely menacing.

The team’s vast second-half improvement was underscored by Cissé’s clinical winner, an excellent chip over Robinson after his pace had taken him past the cumbersome Blackburn defender Zurab Khizanishvili and on to the end of Steed Malbranque’s header.

The striker’s first instinct was to race towards the visitors’ dug-out and, in a fitting postscript to a thoroughly-satisfying afternoon, offer a conciliatory handshake to Keane, the manager who had torn a strip off him for his lacklustre first half display.

Somehow Sunderland hung on during a crazy final few minutes, Ferdinand throwing himself in front of Aaron Mokoena’s late effort to preserve their lead and prompt joyous relief among the huge and vociferous travelling support.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, Keane was asked in his post-match Press conference about the rumours that he’d quit the club. “If I had resigned what the hell would I be doing here,” he snorted, indignantly. At last, a sense of perspective after a bizarre 24 hours on Wearside.