Steve Coppell is unhappy with Sunderland following a £2.5million bid for Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt.

The Republic of Ireland international is one of Roy Keane's top targets for the transfer window as he looks to keep Sunderland in the Premier League.

Reading swiftly rejected the offer for Hunt earlier this week and Coppell insists the club have no intention of cashing in this month.

The Royals manager is also disappointed that news of Sunderland's bid for the 26-year-old has reached the public domain.

"There is no way that Stephen will be leaving the club," Coppell told reporters after the New Year's Day defeat to Portsmouth.

"What does he give us? Everything. He is typical of what we are about.

"He was a free transfer from Brentford and has something to prove on a game-by-game basis. He has been one of our better players for the last 18 months.

"There has been a bid. But I'd like to go back to the old way of doing business where you phone people up and that verbal communication is the end.

"Their making the bid public didn't do me any favours. I would like to think that when we do business it will still be done in the old-fashioned way."

Meanwhile Coppell has called for the window to be scrapped in favour of the previous system.

"I don't anticipate losing any of my players," Coppell told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But I've had a couple of what I'd call scurrilous inquiries.

"I cannot see the logic in a transfer window. It brings on a fire-sale mentality, causes unrest via the media and means clubs buy too many players."

Coppell added: "The old system, where if you had a problem you could look at loans or make a short-term purchase, was far better than this system we have at the moment.

"Nobody has ever explained to me what the benefit (of a transfer window) is and people are putting in faxed offers when they've already been told there's no interest.

"The old way of doing business, where a verbal response was sufficient, is now being ignored."

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