Roy Keane overtakes A-League coach in race for Sunderland job

Patrick Kisnorbo’s hopes of landing the vacant coaching role at EFL League One promotion chasers Sunderland look to have been torpedoed by former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane's entry into the race.

Highly-rated A-League Melbourne City manager Kisnorbo - who carved out a distinguished 10-year playing career in the UK with Hearts, Leicester and Leeds - was yesterday making moves with the British bookies, cut to 4/1 with Bet Victor whilst paying 8/1 with William Hill.

Kisnorbo blown away by Keane

Melbourne City boss Patrick Kisnorbo was among the front runners for the Sunderland job - until Roy Keane entered the fray.
The ex-Manchester United skipper is now the top contender to spearhead the League One club's promotion push.
Sunderland chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has been impressed by Kisnorbo's track record in Australia.

More A-League news can be found on FTBL.

FTBL first revealed Sunderland’s interest in Kisnorbo on Wednesday. But Keane’s expression of interest lengthened those odds overnight, as fourth favourite Kisnorbo blew out to 14/1 with the former Republic of Ireland star at 4/6.

It’s understood that Black Cats chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was looking seriously at last season’s A-League premiership-championship winning coach, along with the likes of much-travelled former Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock, ex-Hull City coach Grant McCann and one-time Celtic chief Neil Lennon.

However, Keane’s sudden desire to return to the coaching arena after a 10-year hiatus has seemingly blown the other candidates out of the water, including the ambitious Kisnorbo.

Kisnorbo, 40, is pushing hard to become Australia’s latest coaching export - inspired by the likes of Ange Postecoglou at Celtic and Kevin Muscat at Yokohama F. Marinos.

Keane was in charge at Sunderland - current home to Socceroos defender Bailey Wright - between 2006-2008, his first managerial position.

He led the north-east club to immediate promotion to the Premier League, followed by a 15th place top flight finish the following year.

Keane, 50, has been out of management since being sacked by Ipswich Town in 2011 but has subsequently had short spells on the coaching staff of the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, and well as giving his famously sharp tongue free rein as a TV pundit.

Sunderland, in their fourth successive season in English football’s third tier, sit third on the ladder after sacking Lee Johnson on Sunday, a day after suffering a 6-0 thrashing against Bolton Wanderers.