Niall Quinn Reaction: Niall Quinn was the man responsible for persuading his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Roy Keane to launch his managerial career at the Stadium of Light but today the Sunderland chairman "reluctantly accepted" the Corkman's decision resign.

"He had put a lot of effort in here, brought more than just his presence here - he brought a way of thinking into this place," said Quinn after Keane decided he had taken the club as far as he could.

Keane's 27-month reign drew to a close this morning. when chairman Niall Quinn reluctantly accepted his decision to call it a day and bring an end to a whirlwind tenure on Wearside.

The 37-year-old was due to hold his regular pre-match press conference ahead of the Premier League trip to former club Manchester United at 1pm.

But after the club finally confirmed his departure following days of speculation, it was Quinn who eventually faces the media.

"He was instrumental in developing a winning mentality - that was the toughest thing of all for him to come and do when we were at the foot of the Championship.

"He brought standards to this club which are amazing. But to do that, it's intense. He is such a respected figure around the world that the media is intense, the fan pressure is intense.

"I tried for two years to keep as much pressure off him as possible, but obviously the Premier League is the Premier League and I guess it came to the point where Roy thought he had reached the end of that journey.

"Reluctantly, I accepted that. It was not the easiest thing to do, but I think it was the best thing to do in the circumstances at that point."

Keane's capture back in 2006 gave Quinn and his Drumaville consortium real impetus in their mission to restore the club's fortunes after buying out former chairman Bob Murray.

They backed the former Manchester United skipper with hard cash - over £70million (€81million) has been spent on strengthening the squad in the last two years - after seeing him drag Sunderland back into the top flight at the first attempt.

However, last season proved a struggle and top flight survival was secured with only weeks to spare, and despite another summer spending spree, the current campaign to date has been just as difficult.

Just a few weeks ago, the Black Cats were riding high after a 2-1 home win over arch-rivals Newcastle, their first on Wearside for 28 years.

However, a run of six defeats in seven games, four of them on their own park, has seen the club slip into the relegation zone and leave some fans questioning the manager.

The sense of uneasiness has grown in recent weeks amid unfounded rumours that Keane had quit and subsequent comments from him which suggested he was questioning his own tenure.

Saturday's 4-1 home defeat by Bolton appears top have made up his mind, and although Quinn tried to persuade him otherwise, he knew from the start he was fighting a losing battle.

The chairman said: "Roy, as he says himself, is his harshest critic. He just felt he had completed his journey here, and he just felt he didn't want to get it unstuck any further and find ourselves in deeper, darker territory.

"That's the measure of the guy. It's funny, in situations like this, I am sure nine times out of 10, the chairman is saying how the manager was trying to keep his job. It was the other way round.

"It's a disappointing day in many respects, but of course, we fully respect his decision.

"And of course, once he made his decision, I said to him, 'I know you too well, Roy, to try to overturn it now' once he went over that line."