SOCCER: Less than a week after it emerged that he was done with the quiet life and itching for a start in football management, Roy Keane will be officially unveiled as the new man in charge of Sunderland this lunchtime when the club hosts a press conference at the Stadium of Light.

Having watched his new side dispatch a previously unbeaten West Brom with surprising ease (2-0), Keane signed the three-year deal he and his representatives have been discussing on and off for more than a month now. After taking in the game between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth last night, he will turn up for his first day in the new job this morning with the appointment of his backroom team and the strengthening of his squad both high on his managerial agenda.

To those who doubted that the Corkman would do things his own way, he sent an early message. The appointment of Keane's assistant has not yet been finalised but Sunderland's new head coach is Tony Loughlan, an old friend and flatmate from the Nottingham Forest days who up until now has been helping with the development of young kids as a coach at Leicester City's academy.

The next piece in the jigsaw may yet be a more experienced number two whose identity could be confirmed as early as this afternoon, although it is more likely to take another day or two. As he prepared to hand over the reins, though, Niall Quinn was adamant that the 35-year-old was the right man for the job and will prove himself capable of taking the club forward at a considerable rate. To judge by the reaction of the majority of the 24,242-strong crowd at yesterday's game, the local supporters are largely in agreement with the view of their chairman.

"He's a world class attraction and I know there are many people out there who are still shaking their heads and wondering how we pulled it off and, in a way, I feel that way too," remarked Quinn at a post-match press conference dominated by discussion of the appointment.

"I'm glad that the future of the club is now in the best possible hands that I thought available. What I was here to do was to put that in place, but I was never the man to bring things forward on the pitch. I have absolutely no doubt that Roy is that man," added Quinn.

Keane, he said, had impressed the players and helped to inspire yesterday's win, the first and, perhaps, last of Quinn's own managerial career.

Asked just how much of the improvement witnessed against West Brom might be attributable to the presence of his fellow Irishman in the stand he joked: "Oh it was all down to Roy," before observing more seriously that the former Manchester United skipper had "brought a buzz" to the Stadium of Light that had benefited everybody as they sought to halt what has been a difficult start to the new season.

There were plenty of questions which the Dubliner declined to answer, insisting that they would be better asked at today's joint-press conference, but when pressed about his relationship with the man he and his partners have just hired, he said: "Look, all chairmen and managers row, we just had ours out of the way over the last few years."

Since arriving back at the club in a new and unfamiliar role of his own Quinn has consistently promised that a manager capable of reversing Sunderland's declining fortunes would be recruited.

"Just spend a little time in his company. He is just such an impressive guy whose drive and knowledge of the game and passion to bring that to others, which is what he's been about for the last few years, is amazing. When we talked to him he was so impressive and when he spoke to our guys they just looked at each other and said 'Whoa!' What we all know is that he will raise the standards. For all of us now the hard work is just beginning but I'm glad for the people of Sunderland that they can see that the people who have backed me are serious about what they have come to do . . . that we wish to attract the best. We feel good about that tonight."

Drumaville consortium

Though a number of other business figures are believed to be involved, documents relating to the takeover of Sunderland football club by the Drumaville consortium list its members as:

Patrick Beirne: Majority shareholder in a packaging company with distribution and manufacturing operations in both Europe and North America.

Patsy Byrne: Chief executive of the Byrne Group, a construction company he established with his brother Jimmy in 1969. The company is, amongst other things, a leading concrete frame contractor.

Charlie Chawke: Prominent Dublin-based publican who owns the likes of The Goat Grill, The Dropping Well and The Orchard in Rathfarnham.

Louis Fitzgerald: Another prominent publican with interest in more than 20 pubs, mainly in galway and Dublin, including the Stag's Head.

John Hays: Local businessman who is managing director of the Hays Travel group which he founded in 1980.

Paddy Kelly: Chairman of Kelland Homes, a house builder operating for more than 30 years in Ireland and with a number of projects currently under development. Kelly also owns a 50 per cent stake in Markland property, a company with interests across Europe.

Jack Tierney: Chairman of Faxhill Homes which, like Kelland, was founded more than three decades ago. The company also develops and owns a range of hotels and leisure facilities.

Niall Quinn.