Roy Keane's 'Stability' Questioned

Roy Keane's departure from Sunderland has sparked something of a 'war of words' amongst major shareholders of the Wearside club, who seem split over whether or not the former Manchester United midfielder has 'an unstable personality'.

Per-Magnus Andersson, the boss of an American asset company with a significant stake in the Black Cats, has reportedly said: "Personally, I think he has quite an unstable personality. He is not an Alex Ferguson, which many people think.

"He is a bit of a maverick and he didn’t succeed on the pitch because of his pit-bull personality.

"He had an outlook as a player that said: ‘If you knock me down I will kick you and then we can see who is still standing at the end of the game’, and that is the way he was as a coach as well."

Another American, tycoon Ellis Short, who acquired a controlling interest in Sunderland from the Drumaville consortium fronted by Niall Quinn in September, has moved quickly to distance the club from Andersson's remarks.

"The comments reported do not represent me, Drumaville, or the board," said Short, who went on to speak of his high professional regard for the man who took Sunderland from the bottom reaches of the Championship to the Premier League as manager.

"For the record, I have nothing but admiration for Roy Keane and am grateful for all he has done for the club and wish him well for the future.

"Niall Quinn and his executive board are the only people authorized to speak on behalf of the club and they alone will be responsible for identifying a successor to Roy Keane in due course."

Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce seems to have been installed as favorite to succeed Keane at the Stadium of Light, with some British bookmakers quoting his odds at as low as 5/4. Avram Grant is at 7/2, with Gordon Strachan and Alan Curbishley at 4/1.

--Zack Wilson, Goal.com