Andy Reid says Roy Keane's resignation as Sunderland manager came as a shock.

Reid told the Daily Mail: "None of us saw it coming. You don't really think about things like that. You think about the next game, the next training session, not whether the manager is going to leave or not but at the same time you are aware in football that anything can happen and managers and players come and go all the time.

"The club will always be there and be the number one factor. It is bigger than any man, player or manager. The fans and players will still be here and when he left it was up to us to go and perform and show what we can do. I think we have done that and have reacted the right way as a team and as a club.

"The club has shown the right respect where it is deserved and if you look where we were when he took over, as opposed to where it was when he left, the change is phenomenal and the quality of players here now is superb. You feel the club has moved on.

"But Ricky has been fantastic. He has given us the licence to relax and express ourselves a bit more and he has been a calming influence.

"He has been very mature because it has been a difficult time since the manager left, as it is when any manager leaves a club.

"And I am definitely enjoying my football. I like getting on the ball, as people know, I like trying to play and make things and I am equally happy to do that from central or wide positions but it is nice to have a manager who allows me to roam and express myself."