Defender Clive Clarke has lifted the lid on Roy Keane's regime at Sunderland, claiming the calm demeanour his fellow Irishman seems to have brought into management is merely a front.

"He is going around booting chairs and throwing things," the defender was quoted as saying by The Sunday Independent.

"He's never going to give you confidence, he doesn't talk to the lads. If the lads at Manchester United couldn't reach the standards he wanted, and they are some of the best players in the world, then it's going to be a lot harder for the lads at Sunderland to reach them."

You can't help feeling that Keane's limitations are starting to be exposed. He has spent big but packed his team with old or failed ex-Reds, as well as players he has come across in his time with Ireland and Celtic. He was a great player, but the arrogance and temper that characterised his tirades against McCarthy and his fellow players at United clearly haven't disappeared overnight. Now it's his turn to take a highly-publicised rebuke from one of his players. Perhaps some chickens are coming home to roost for Keane.