The two camps were polarised: there were those who believed he was the Wearside equivalent of Kevin Keegan, who had resurrected a sleeping giant a few miles up the road at Newcastle, while others - many of them perhaps of the black and white persuasion - forecast disaster.

Eight remarkable months on, the doubters have been silenced as Keane has led the club back into the Barclays Premiership.

Such has been the transformation he has engineered at the Stadium of Light that chairman Niall Quinn, the man who had the foresight not to accept "no" for an answer, is already having to rebuff speculation that his former international team-mate is the latest to be anointed as a potential replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Those who questioned Keane's appointment did so on solid grounds: he had little coaching experience and was walking into a demoralised dressing room occupied by players with a fraction of his talent.

Just how his famously combustible temperament would cope with the challenge was a topic of intense debate.

But from the moment he appeared before the cameras as Quinn unveiled his man, the answers came thick and fast.

Yes, he had made mistakes in the past, yes, he had regrets, yes, he would have to change.

The atmosphere was confessional, the process cathartic as rifts were bridged and wounds healed with Sir Alex Ferguson and Quinn, if not immediately World Cup foe Mick McCarthy, receiving apologies.

He said: "Listen, I have apologised to lots of people, and I am sure I will have to a few more times."

What Keane has made no apologies for is believing a team which was languishing in the lower reaches of the Coca-Cola Championship table with just three points from a possible 15 when he took over could drag itself into the race for promotion.

He may have changed in some ways - he has conducted himself in front of the fascinated media with wit, patience, self-deprecation and a refreshing honesty, all the while doing so on his own terms and with the enduring capacity to wither with a stare.

However, what has not altered is his will to succeed.

Keane, a man who regularly found himself in conflict with the authorities throughout his playing career, rules with a rod of iron.

Handed the wherewithal to strengthen his squad both in August and January, he was ruthless in his assessment of what he had and what he needed.

Even then, when Liam Lawrence, Ben Alnwick and Chris Brown found themselves the subject of lurid tabloid headlines, their days on Wearside were numbered.

The rules apply to everyone - £2million Keane signing Anthony Stokes, along with keeper Marton Fulop and winger Tobias Hysen, were late for the team coach ahead of the trip to Barnsley on March 10, and it left without them.

The sheepish trio turned up for a carpeting the following Monday, according to their manager, along with the milkman.

Keane said: "Listen, we all make mistakes - I have made a few, and I am sure I will make many more, like the lads. They are three decent lads. It is nothing personal."

That, in a nutshell, is the Keane philosophy. Individuals are not important, it is what they contribute to the whole which matters, and anyone not pulling their weight might as well pack their bags.

He is big enough to acknowledge the excesses of his own playing days, although it is worth noting his attack on United`s prawn-sandwich brigade and the McCarthy saga were both borne out of frustration at what he saw as hindrances to the respective fortunes of his club and country.

He said: "I am probably not as intense as when I was player. I have had to change a little bit, but of course I want to win and you want your players to want to win."

Keane launched his management career with a 2-1 victory at Derby and followed it up with a 3-0 win at Leeds before a home draw with Leicester and a 3-1 defeat at Ipswich put early hysteria into context.

However, steady progress left the Black Cats within striking distance by the turn of the year and with the fans starting to flood back, the scene was set for a thrilling final act.

Few would have backed Sunderland to regain their top-flight status at the first attempt, and there is hard work to be done once again to ensure their stay lasts longer than the last disastrous episode of their Premiership soap opera.

But with Keane at the helm and Quinn and his Drumaville consortium firmly behind him, Wearside is dreaming once again.