Sunderland manager Keane reveals he does not dig the Dancing Queen

Keane was three games into his Sunderland reign, facing relegation and a mountainous task.

Some £90million later, much has changed; pressure, expectation, and of course, the choice of pre-match music.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane was not a fan of the pre-match music when he first joined the club

‘Just before we went out to play, Abba was on, Dancing Queen I think it was,’ he said.

‘I think a few of the players liked Abba, that was the bloody problem.

'There were two of them dancing in the corner, they didn’t want to go out and play, they wanted to listen to bloody Abba.

‘Ipswich would have been outside our dressing room listening to Dancing Queen, thinking we’ve got a great chance against these.

'That’s what I’d be thinking. And they beat us 3-1.

‘What annoyed me about the Ipswich game was that none one of the players had the balls to say, “Hey we’re not listening to this rubbish.”

'The masseur was running it and that masseur is no longer at the club anyway.

'He was running everything at the bloody club.’

Keane recalled the memory as he spoke of a seismic change in his own situation.

Another 10 new players arrived at the Stadium of Light in the summer — taking his transfer dealings to a staggering 100 in just two years — and he knows that such industry and investment in the market was not done to fight relegation.

‘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,’ he added.

‘I’m comfortable with the spotlight being more on me.

'That’s the name of the game. People will look at me and say I’ve done the easy part in the last year or two.

'Now can you go on again? That’s the challenge we face.

‘We’ve brought a lot of players in together and you see it every day on the training pitch, people sorting their roles out amongst the group; sorting the pack out.

'It’s like a group of dogs, who’s going to take the lead role?

'The tension is good. Sometimes I have to step back and say, “Deal with it yourselves.”
‘I got a new dog not so long ago, 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 is at the back.’

Mido was one player who did turn Keane down.

Last summer, the Egypt forward chose Middlesbrough instead of Sunderland.

He will now have the chance to add to Keane’s weak start to the season.

‘Going for lunch where he tried to convince me to go to Sunderland was something great and to meet such a legend was great,’ Mido said.

Middlesbrough striker Mido turned down a a move to join the Stadium of Light club

‘Of course I thought about going there. ‘

'The way he played during his career and the way he manages his teams shows you how much character he has.

'I had a decision to make and I think I was right about that.‘

'He accepted my decision. He knows that in football, with the way transfers are now, you can do as much as you can to persuade someone to join you but then it’s up to the player.

‘He’s not an easy man to say no to but he’s a straight forward character.

'I think he’s a bit like me. I’m a guy who always says my opinion and never hides it and I think he’s the same.’