Roy Keane insisted he will continue to speak his mind no matter who he upsets after confirming he won't be walking away from Sunderland.

The Black Cats' boss freely admitted he has talked himself into trouble throughout his career and is likely to do so again as he attempts to achieve as much in management as he did as a player.

But he is making no apologies for telling it how he sees it after he criticised both his players and some of his club's fans in the wake of the Wearside club's Carling Cup escape against Northampton.

Keane, whose side travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League over the weekend, said: "I didn't come to this club to be liked or to be popular. I have come here to do a job.

"Three years, when I came here, was the mission and we are on course.

"If I have to stir the players up or stir the supporters up, then I will do it."

He added: "I have done it before. I am involved in sport, and particularly football, because I love it. I love the game and I love winning."

The former Ireland captain's uncompromising stance should surprise no-one who has followed his career, and he admitted that dates back to his earliest days in the game.

He said: "You can speak to my old manager when I was nine, ten years of age, Timmy Murphy - I'll give you his number - I was always involved in sport to try to win and push myself, and I fell out with people when I was 11, 12 years of age."

Keane was upset in midweek, both by the performance of his team and by a few individuals in the crowd who headed for the dug-out to express their dissatisfaction at close hand.

He later said he would not tolerate that situation, a statement which prompted some to draw the conclusion he would walk away if the criticism continued.

But he was quick to clarify his comments and said: "We are talking about two or three fans, and I won't tolerate it. We will just have to employ more stewards.

"We have had great support, but people should remember as well, even the booing at half-time and stuff like that, anybody who knows how we play, sometimes we don't start until the last ten minutes anyway."

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