Sunderland midfielder Dean Whitehead insists the players haven't been unsettled by Roy Keane's amazing rant in the Irish press last week.

"I haven't read the Roy Keane interview but I've heard about what he's reported to have said," Whitehead said. "I'm not bothered. The players don't really talk about him any more but we respect him.

"He did a great job here and we ain't got a bad word to say about him. That's football, players and managers move on and you've just got to deal with it. But we don't discuss him any more."