Andy Reid insists the players still do not know why Roy Keane left Sunderland.

The midfielder said: "I was surprised Roy went, I think everybody was. It was a shock, maybe he felt it was time for him to go and maybe he felt it was time for us to be away from him as well.

"I don't think anybody knows the reason he did it but he clearly felt it was the right time to move on and we have to respect that.

"As Niall said many times, he took the club off its knees and took it to a fantastic position. We have a very good team here and we need to show it more regularly, we'll be fine.

"The majority of players now are very professional. This is a big club they understand that and just because the managers leaves doesn't mean they switch off or don't perform or try.

"The manager has left and what a response we've had over the last couple of weeks which shows the lads' professionalism and will to win."