So much has changed in a year for Black Cats

Nov 28 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

It is 12 months since Roy Keane walked out on Sunderland. George McCartney tells Mark Douglas about the Steve Bruce revolution.

NIALL Quinn won’t be commissioning a statue to mark the date and the club shop won’t be rushing out commemorative DVDs, but this weekend marks an important anniversary in Sunderland’s recent history.

A year tomorrow, to the undignified soundtrack of the jeers of 35,000 people, Roy Keane stalked down the tunnel at the Stadium of Light for the last time following his side’s 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Bolton – unwittingly ushering in phase two of the evolution of Sunderland football club under Quinn.

The divided dressing room fell eerily silent in the aftermath, the anticipated outpouring of fury from an increasingly erratic manager on hold as it dawned on him that there was no coming back from that bleakest of days.

It was an undignified way for the Keane era to end but in hindsight it was essential to Sunderland’s continued growth.

The transformation under Steve Bruce in the interim period has been nothing short of remarkable. With a neat kind of symmetry Bruce’s side could muscle their way into the top five today if they beat his former club Wigan in the sort of match that would have had Black Cats supporters sweating last season. It is a testament to Bruce’s management style – combined with the serious investment made by Ellis Short in the summer – that he has managed to usher in such a transformation.

George McCartney is one of the survivors of the last days of Keane, although injury absolves him from blame for the 4-1 defeat that hastened Sunderland’s new dawn.

Looking back on the end of Keane’s reign, the Northern Ireland defender feels the atmosphere around the Sunderland camp is more relaxed and that has allowed the players to express themselves more – giving rise to the vast improvement in entertainment levels at the Stadium of Light.

He believes the two managers are polar opposites. While Keane was a distant, intimidating figure Bruce is more approachable – an authoritarian figure at times but also funny and popular with most of the squad.

“On and off the training pitch it’s just a far happier place to be this season,” said McCartney. “I think around the place everyone is just that bit more relaxed. They feel they can do things without probably having to answer to certain people.

“The manager has come in and changed things around. He’s put his point of view across and everyone seems to have accepted it and been happy with how things are going. Obviously he’s made a few really good signings and they seemed to have benefited the team on the pitch.

“For me there is instant respect and affection for him because he is so laid back. If you give him respect, he’ll give it to you back and there is a human face there as well. You want to work for him.

“When he joins in training he’s always having a laugh. He’s always playing jokes – even on the training pitch. He always thinks he’s a different Manchester United every day, even though he can hardly move! He’s been through a few Manchester United players – not Eric Cantona yet though!” It is not just in the dugout where things have changed.

The squad feels more united, the players that have joined this summer a world apart from the influx of arrogant, brash characters from across the Channel.