Keane losing patience with chase for West Brom duo

Sunderland boss Roy Keane is running out of patience with West Brom in his pursuit of defenders Paul Robinson and Paul McShane and is ready to turn his attentions to Denmark centre half Michael Gravgaard.

West Ham failed with a move for the FC Copenhagen player in January but Sunderland have been encouraged with their £2.5million approach.

Keane must strengthen his defence following his failure to persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to let him keep Manchester United's Jonny Evans on loan for the new campaign.

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn is backing his club to roar once again as it heads back into the Barclays Premier League.

The Black Cats have plummeted from the top flight on their last two visits with barely a whimper with record low points totals of 19 and 15 respectively.

However, with Keane at the helm and a big transfer kitty to invest in the squad, Quinn is confident there will be no repeat of that misery this time around.

He said: "There's a little bit in me that thinks everyone is up for it, that this is different.

"There's happiness in the air at this stage, I just hope it's the same come August, September and October as the going gets tough.

"I hope we are in there holding our own and we are a club that everyone can feel proud of.

"But we cannot expect too much, it will take time.

"What happened last year was a fairytale - it was amazing what Roy Keane did with this team - but there's a real class leap now, we need time to bed in.

"It will be tough, we know that, it's a dog-eat-dog league. For all its beauty and panache on the outside, deep in the engine room, the Premier League's a tough league.

"But we have lots of reasons to believe that if we get things right, we will have a good year.

"I hope teams come up here and get the fright they used to get when I was a player. I believe this club is going to roar again."