I'll pay slackers to go, says Sunderland manager Keane

Roy Keane, on the other hand, spoke like a manager who is so determined to get rid of half his squad this summer that he would happily help his players pack and drive them to another club himself.

"We will give them a few bob to go," said Keane. "You pay them to come, you pay them to go. It's simple."

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Survival might be cause for celebration at Bolton, and rightly so, but the 's' word is anathema to Keane, who spent almost his entire career competing for silverware.

While Megson tried to avoid the subject for fear of jinxing his side — even though it would take a turnaround of monumental proportions for Bolton to go down now — Keane spat it out like a dirty word.

"Do people think that survival is a time to celebrate?" he asked. "If they do, then I don't really want them at the football club.

"We got safe last week, but that was last week. Do we celebrate again next week? Do we celebrate all summer?

"I want to think bigger than that. We are Sunderland and survival isn't really a word we want to be using next year.

"We've lost 22 games and I can tell you when I am on my holidays I'll be thinking about those 22 defeats. And we've got Arsenal next week, so it could be 23.

"I'm lucky to be in a job. It's only because we have got so many late winners, otherwise we would be adrift with Derby.

"There will be plenty of changes, trust me. I could make at least seven or eight in the summer.

"We have got four or five players whose contracts are up, but I really haven't got a problem with getting rid of people who have got three or four years left on their contracts, if players think they've got that to fall back on."

Megson will face a similar task at the Reebok this summer, assuming Bolton give him the chance to build his own team after salvaging a seemingly lost cause.

Jussi Jaaskelainen, Ricardo Gardner, Ivan Campo, Stelios and Abdoulaye Meite are expected to be first out of the door, while on-loan Danny Guthrie will return to Liverpool.

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And then there's Diouf. A guaranteed starter in many people's Most Unpopular Premier League XI, the Senegal striker at least marked his final home appearance with a goal worthy of the occasion.

When Kevin Nolan's cross found him unmarked four minutes before half-time, Diouf took one touch and clipped a curling shot beyond Craig Gordon into the top corner.

Diouf also headed against a post and then beat two players to start the move that ended with Sunderland conceding a corner.

From that, Daryl Murphy headed an own goal in the 83rd minute.

Although Megson insists it will take a big offer to persuade him to part with Diouf, the player is determined to make a fresh start.

"I've been here four years and I'll never forget this club, but I need another challenge," said the forward.

"Here I'm so confident I will play every game. I need to be more challenged. I'd like to play in the Champions League or for a club that has big ambitions.

"Could I change my mind? I don't think so. I don't think I can stay here. I have a few clubs in Spain who want me but my first choice is to stay in England."

Bolton's 11-goal advantage over Reading should see them safely over the line but Megson, whose side are at title-chasing Chelsea next Sunday, is taking nothing for granted.

"It won't be a case of trying to kick Chelsea off the park because they've got a Champions League Final in a couple of weeks' time, but we will compete for every single ball and be aggressive when we need to be," he said.