Roy Keane reckons that Manchester UnitedÂ’s never- say-die spirit is running wild at Sunderland.
KeaneÂ’s Old Trafford career was typified by countless dramatic comebacks at the death.
And his Black Cats have already become dab hands at staging their own late shows.
Their two Premier League games so far have both produced injury-time strikes.
Sunderland beat Tottenham 1-0 on the opening day of the season then stunned Birmingham with a leveller to make it 2-2 at St AndrewÂ’s.
And Keano, who visits Wigan today, insists the mental toughness drilled into him by United boss Alex Ferguson has been the key to his outlook.
He said: “At United we had good characters and good players, who simply wouldn’t settle for a defeat or a draw.
“You just watch the opposition, you just know they’re thinking ‘We’re coming to get you’.
“They know it. A lot of top teams will keep going even if it looks like they’re dead and buried. They’ll pull one back or put you under the cosh.
“Other teams did it, but not as much as United and that’s a good thing to have in your team. We saw our lads do it against Tottenham. I see it on the training ground.
“There’s an edge to those players and I love to see it. They want to win.
“Alex Ferguson brought it out of his men with the hairdryer! It was the demands he put on you — but it also came from the staff, the supporters and the pride you have inside you. You keep going.
“Think of Liverpool in the Champions League final, dead and buried. And United doing the same in 1999.
“You can tell which players have it by their body language, by their eyes, by their actions.
“It’s not about what they say, it’s about what they do. If you keep doing it, it develops.
“The opposition thinks ‘We need to hold on because they’re going to come after us’.
“You can’t coach or manage that. It just comes with the players and that’s why we keep going on about getting the right characters to the club.”