Premier League - Managers: Keane future doubt

Eurosport - Sun, 30 Nov 21:22:00 2008

All the reaction following Saturday's matches in the Premier League - including Sunderland manager Roy Keane's confession that he is not sure whether he is the right man for the job after the 4-1 defeat at home to Bolton.

2008-2009 Sunderland Roy Keane - 0

Sunderland 1-4 Bolton Wanderers

Roy Keane: "I ask myself every single day if I am the right man for Sunderland. I asked myself this morning and I said that I was. Tomorrow morning if the answer's no we will have to look at it. I have to be honest in my assessment. It's not about what's best for Roy Keane. It's Sunderland Football Club. I might wake up on Monday morning and think I'm the right man. On Tuesday it might be different. I'm the manager of this football club and ultimately I'm responsible and I've never shied away from that. That's part of being a manager and that's why I take full responsibility for today and the run we're on and everything else."

Gary Megson: "There's no secret and the only thing we're doing differently that we weren't doing beforehand is scoring goals. Our performances are not much different except in terms of confidence. When we score goals all the other aspects of our game come to the fore and people start to realise what we've got ... [Johan Elmander] scored two fantastic goals and had one kicked off the line so I'm really pleased with him. People have focused on the fact that he hasn't scored enough goals but his performances have always been really good."

Aston Villa 0-0 Fulham

Martin O'Neill: "I think from the outside it is easy to throw at us that we have choked but I don't believe that. We went into the game full of confidence and with our hopes high after the previous two games. It is tough. Fulham were cock-a-hoop after their draw at Liverpool, played the same system, and it was tough for us to break them down. But as regards choking, I do not accept that. Every game is hard and we are not brilliant enough at the moment to steamroll teams but we are doing fine."

Roy Hodgson: "We are having an impressive sequence of results and it is down to the discipline and hard work we are showing. I thought in the first half we did quite well in terms of passing the ball around and were not just defending. We were under siege a bit in the second half, the most we have been for a while, and Villa threw everything at us in that period."

Stoke City 1-1 Hull City

Tony Pulis: "When you go a goal down in the Premier League it is very difficult to come back. I was pleased with the character of the lads in the second half, their effort and commitment was first class. In the final third at times we need that little bit more to open teams up. But it is a good point, we are building, the transfer window opens in four weeks' time and we will be trying to do some business."

Phil Brown on Stoke's penalty: "We've been robbed by a poor decision, in my opinion. It wasn't a spectacle by any stretch of the imagination. But we came in 1-0 up - I said the first goal in today's game would be important and it should have been enough to win it - but we were a little bit undone by a dubious decision. It was a very theatrical dive. You have to be 100 per cent right when you make decisions like that and I don't think you can be in that situation."

Middlesbrough 0-0 Newcastle United

Gareth Southgate: "It was very much a point gained, a hard-earned point, but one we certainly deserved. We had the majority of the game, certainly in the second half - it was pretty much one-way traffic for long periods of the second half. We allowed them a few breaks and they had a chance near the end which we shouldn't have allowed them to have, but I am very pleased with how we played. Sometimes you draw a game and you are disappointed with the performance, but I thought bar the finishing touch, we had pretty much everything today."

Newcastle assistant manager Chris Hughton on Obafemi Martins's furious reaction to being substituted: "You want nobody to be happy to be taken off, but any issues that way are always dealt with in-house, and that's always the correct way to approach it, always ... On the back of last week, what we wanted to do was keep a clean sheet. We felt we had enough in the team to score us a goal here."

Wigan Athletic 2-1 West Bromwich

Steve Bruce: "We have to thank our goalkeeper (Chris Kirkland) - he was fantastic - and in my eyes is one of the best goalkeepers in the country if not the best. With his fragile back we have decided to put the reins on him and keep him fresh. That's why we have changed his training regime. He was one of the old-fashioned types who just wanted balls blasted at him from six yards. He was a workaholic. He would be on the pitch at 9am and still there at 2pm. That work left him a bit stiff."

Tony Mowbray: "I thought we played OK today, the balance of the team was fine. We created more than enough chances to win the game but ended up losing it. Generally week-in, week-out we are better than the opposition on the balance of play. Yet football is about being clinical in both boxes. We have got to keep going. We have what we have - but we paid a heavy price in this game."

Eurosport

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  1. Im Irish and none of this paddy bashing bothers me. Its­ the people who think like this and speak like this who­ have a problem.Roy Keane is still finding his­ managerial feet. Pity hes learning at sucn a huge club.­ Two years ago he was still a player

    From Dean O, on Sun 30 Nov 6:37PM
  2. Big sim88........ No real Name probably on Uncle Nicks­ list......... No relation mate Im irish ,,,,,Duh­ Griffin was a give away you simpleton

    From MARC G, on Sun 30 Nov 6:37PM
  3. marc.n.griffin are u related to Nick Griffin by any­ chance? u muppet.

    From Big, on Sun 30 Nov 6:31PM
  4. roys swapped his theatre of dreams for a field of­ potatoes

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 6:26PM
  5. anyway roy goes on about prawn sandwiches is that with­ a potato salad .....

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 6:17PM
  6. they always were!

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 6:15PM
  7. Apart from all that Sunderland are @#$% tho'

    From MARC G, on Sun 30 Nov 6:12PM
  8. Lawrence i never saw your name on the list ??????????

    From MARC G, on Sun 30 Nov 6:11PM
  9. Racist that ain't racist Chill out guys you heard­ worse on the terraces when we had terraces football was­ a Working class spectator sport until the big­ corporations and sattelite tv doo dahs got their aussie­ claws into it

    Imagine east london on a cold saturday­ afternoon early seventies West Ham field two Black­ players in Ade Coker & Clyde Best they had an Ok­ game and it was a draw a few TV cameras (black players­ were a novelty) a few Scuffles and a sell out game PC­ was not invented and a majrity of the Old school in the­ caps etc were in attendence bit the two players still­ got so much abuse it was untrue

    That thankfully is­ gone but that was true racism not some silly Irish­ comments roy keane hasheard and laughed at many times­ over as he walks his dog and counts his millions in his­ opulent mansion with its de-rigeur pool flash cars and­ glamourous Wife
    and we apologise dont make me laugh

    From MARC G, on Sun 30 Nov 6:09PM
  10. you are all hiding behind critisms related to Keane­ being from Ireland ...
    facts are :
    he was a very dirty­ vindictive player
    he is failing as a manager
    poor poor­ roy diddums

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 5:59PM
  11. Markpetbrangs, what am imbecile you are! Would you call­ a black man a @#$% or a jew a yid/red sea pedestrian.­ Then don't call the Irish Paddy's.

    Vote­ BNP!!!

    Join Us!!!

    Visit our website!!!

    From Darth Vader, on Sun 30 Nov 5:53PM
  12. hey i reckon its all mick macarthy's fault go on­ roy have another go at him !

    how about a brisk walk­ with the dogs thatll sort it!

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 5:51PM
  13. Peter E. Having read your ill thought out comments I­ hung my head and shed a solitary tear at the sad state­ of affairs these message boards have arrived at. To­ apologise - and worst of all, it seems, sincerely! - to­ apologise on a football related message board for­ having said something racist? You should be ashamed.

    From sergeisdiary, on Sun 30 Nov 5:47PM
  14. ex manu players huh ...great players not necessarily­ great managers !

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 5:44PM
  15. Roy Keane is struggling just like any other manager­ does from time to time. This time he cant move forward­ with his bullying tactics. He says its not about him it­ sunderland fc yeah right it sounds like me me me .
    I­ expect he will crawl away with some wonderful personal­ excuse
    good ridance

    From mags_039, on Sun 30 Nov 5:40PM
  16. c'mon cisse i ahve you in my fantasy league team­ and you never let me down, mate...

    From martin, on Sun 30 Nov 5:37PM
  17. Roy Keane is a @#$% Manager and an ignorant Paddy and a­ dirty player he should manage Dublin FC (not that they­ will have him!!)

    From Mark, on Sun 30 Nov 5:36PM
  18. Comment 4 was for the most part spot on.

    Keane is a­ foul mouthed racist who was a thug as a player (­ Haaland tackle anyone ? ) and has no part in the­ beautiful game.

    From doc_scrumpy, on Sun 30 Nov 5:25PM
  19. Tony C you say Roy Keane has some fire in the belly and­ not affaid to say what he thinks. You missed out­ he's not afraid to ruthlessly destroy anyone who­ gets in his
    way. Call me old fashioned but I would­ rather not have his type in football.

    From Dreamer, on Sun 30 Nov 4:52PM
  20. I hope Keano stays,he has done ok so far and am sure he­ will end up as a good solid Manager,we need the likes­ if Roy Keane as managers with some fire in the belly­ and not affraid to say what he thinks.

    From Tony, on Sun 30 Nov 4:37PM
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