Leader of the pack Keane needs a victory

SOCCER ANGLES:The Sunderland manager believes he is now facing his biggest challenge in the job

POOR TRIGGS. The most famous dog since Ballyregan Bob has been relegated. That's Roy Keane for you.

Yesterday morning during what might be described as an unusual preamble to Sunderland's derby with Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light this afternoon, Keane touched on Triggs's plight as well as the music of Abba and its unwelcome role in a football dressingroom. Believe it or not, this stemmed from the perfectly reasonable sentiment from Keane that now Sunderland possess a squad recognisable for its depth and enhanced quality, Keane faces "the biggest test of my managerial career." That statement provoked a discussion about personnel recruitment and disposal, and then a question as to previous big challenges in Keane's two years and 10 days as a manager.

Taking over a club bottom of the Championship left room for plenty but Keane immediately pounced on Ipswich Town, September 23rd, 2006. It was Keane's fourth game as a manager and his first loss as a boss.

But he mentioned neither of those facts yesterday. What he mentioned was the pre-match music in the Sunderland dressingroom. "Bloody Abba", he said, his disdain plain.

"We went to Ipswich and got beaten 3-1 and I swear they were playing the Abba music before the game," Keane said, still incredulous. "You find out about different players in those times." What Keane found out was that he didn't like some of his inherited squad, one imagines in particular "the two of them dancing in the corner.

"It was the masseur who was playing the lead role. He was playing the music in the dressingroom. I remember stepping back and thinking: 'That's not right'. But we had no leaders at the time really.

"So just before we went out to play, Abba was on, Dancing Queen I think it was. Ipswich would have been outside our dressingroom listening to Dancing Queen and thinking: 'We've got a great chance against these.' Of course you would, that's what I would be thinking. And they beat us 3-1."

Keane was half-laughing. But only half of him because he knows that while anecdotes like this are part of the game, they are gravy on the meat of results. And Sunderland need a meaty result today, a win.

Summers distort time frames, so it sounds more dramatic than it is, but the last time Sunderland won at the Stadium of Light was in April. They have played only three times there since - against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City - but they have not scored once.

That means the last home goal seen by supporters was Emanuel Pogatetz's 90th-minute own goal. That gave Sunderland a 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough and will live on as the win that kept them up, the win that beat the yo-yo.

The knock-on effect was that Keane was able to deliver his Premier League shopping list to Niall Quinn, not a Championship one. There was a moment in mid-July when things were tense because none on the list had been acquired, but then the Tottenham Three were freed from White Hart Lane, El-Hadji Diouf came from Bolton and suddenly Keane's new squad started to take shape.

Right up until transfer deadline day Sunderland were active and the international break meant that only last Saturday did Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney make their debuts in defence. But they are all in the door now and Keane acknowledged that is about his management of those players, and increased Wearside expectations.

"I think I face my biggest challenge as a manager now, 100 per cent. I face my biggest challenge because I've got no excuses in terms of me saying constantly for the last couple of years that we have to improve. I think we have improved, we have brought in good players. But good players don't make a good team and that's what's hanging over my group of players now. Can we all gel? I've got no excuses now. There's no get out, I suppose."

Keane is still prepared to argue that he has not spent a lot, and in comparison to some clubs he has not. But in comparison to Sunderland pre-Drumaville, he has, and the fans know it. There is an edginess to them, they feel they have a better team but they want to be shown proof.

Keane sees it: "Every day on the training pitch, people sorting their roles out amongst the group, sorting the pack out like a group of dogs, who's going to take the lead role."

Keane and dogs go back, of course. For those few post-Saipan days, Triggs was the most famous dog on the planet, never mind planet sport. And when he started on "packs" yesterday, Keane revealed that he has a new dog in the house - "so there's three in my pack now.

"There's me, Triggs and I've got a new German shepherd. I'm taking the lead role, as you'd expect. You've got to take the lead role and the German shepherd has taken over and he's second in charge. Poor old Triggs at the back."

Keane declined to give the name of Triggs's superior.

Time passes. The Abba music is gone, so is the masseur who played it, so are the dancers. Triggs is number three in Roy's pack. Sunderland is a changed club. The constant is the need to win and Sunderland need to today.

 The rich get richer . . .

LAST WEEKEND there was the big bang of Manchester City-Chelsea and Liverpool-Manchester United. Tomorrow it is Chelsea-United and in between there has been the start of the Champions League.

That is a lot of noise but still audible in the midst of it was the depressing opinion of Fintan Drury that he is, for now, ceasing to be active in trying to create an All-Ireland League. "Parking it" I believe the phrase is.

Drury's frustration is understandable. History does not just happen, it is made by people.

There seem to be plenty within Irish football who would like to see history made in the shape of a new All-Ireland League. They are complimentary about the sporting idea and see the wisdom of it economically.

But they appear to be waiting for it to happen, if it is to come about it will be because it has been made from within. It has to be wanted, it has to be fought for, it won't just happen.

The logic of such a league should triumph in any argument but the arguments will still come.

They will make advocates feel uncomfortable because from the North - at least part of the Unionist North - there is concern about politics and geography. People feel hesitant because of wider implications and those feelings have to be addressed. But they are not insurmountable.

Meanwhile, from within the Republic there appears to be wariness of rocking the FAI's boat.

Well, if change is to be made, boats will be not just be rocked but overturned. Otherwise the idea fades, seats are retaken and the whole thing trudges on cosily, whispering in the background as punters board flights to watch Chelsea, Celtic, Tottenham on and on.

Ireland in need of unity

PROFITS GET privatised, losses get nationalised. The rich win all ways.

Which brings us to the folk who run Queens Park Rangers. Billionaires are not expected to be in touch with the common man but surely the Formula One types who run QPR are aware that charging Derby County fans £40 (€50) to watch a match in the Championship is over the top. And counter-productive.

This has not stopped QPR however. Next Saturday, when Derby fans were anticipating a £30 (€38) charge - very high anyway - they discovered QPR have added a tenner. Throw in travel, food and something called the global economic downturn and the value in that £40 shrinks somewhat.

QPR followers, who have endured their fair share of pain of late, had finally been given hope by seeing men such as Bernie Ecclestone invest. Now they have seen their own ticket prices rise. The Football League were preparing to intervene yesterday.

Billionaires squeezing fans until the pips squeak. Trickle-down economic theory. What a great idea that was.