Roy Keane will mark 50 games in charge of Sunderland when he takes his side to Middlesbrough tomorrow for the Tees-Wear derby.

Keane took over in August 2006 despite having had no managerial experience and led them to the Championship title.

Tomorrow's landmark, though, is insignificant for a man who once joked that he might not last five games at the Stadium of Light.

He said: "It's just a number, isn't it? Fifty, 51, they are all the same.  I thought I'd make five after we won the first two. I thought I had got a bit of breathing space for a few weeks.

"You look at some of the other manager who are around - there are seven or eight managers who have done over 1,000 matches - and I am sure they would say all you do is focus on the next match."

Tomorrow's game will bring Keane into direct competition with the top flight's other rookie manager, Gareth Southgate.

Both enjoyed illustrious playing careers, but could hardly have been more different as characters.

But Keane plays down Southgate's "nice man" tag.  He said: "You have to be tough and all the top managers have that. But it doesn't meant to say you cannot be nice - look at me.

"But I wouldn't be fooled by this idea that Gareth is completely 100 per cent a nice guy."

The two men also took different routes into the latest phase of their respective careers with Keane accepting chairman Niall Quinn's invitation to revive Sunderland's fortunes, while Southgate made the progression from Boro captain to manager in one huge stride.

Keane, long touted as a potential successor to Alex Ferguson at United, said: "It is something that wouldn't appeal to me, but there are advantages.

"The likes of Gareth, he would know the club inside out, he wouldn't have to move house, he would know the staff, he would know all the kids, he would know the scouts.

"It does help on that side of it, but for me, I was always going to go down a different road anyway."