Keane has not shut the door on Miller

SOCCER:Liam Miller is said to have been surprised when he was called in to be dressed down for his poor timekeeping earlier this week and shocked when the issue prompted his manager, Roy Keane, to put him on the Sunderland transfer list.

It seems safe to assume then he will have been taken aback too by his fellow Corkman's decision to chastise him publicly yesterday for his behaviour, with the manager even mocking what were presumably the player's stated reasons for being late with jokes about the quality of the 27 year-old's driving at his weekly pre-match press conference.

"If you are driving to work, don't get in the car with Liam Miller because he has more car crashes than anyone I know," Keane told journalists when asked about his decision to make the midfielder available to other clubs.

He said he had felt his responsibility to the club and the squad as a whole had left him with no option but to take firm action against the player, but he subsequently offered an olive branch, stating that Miller might well yet have a future at Sunderland if only his attitude improved.

"He is a talented boy," said Keane, "and he has had his ups and downs like lots. It's not a question about Liam the lad. I'm employed by Sunderland and I have to do what is right for Sunderland. He is a Corkman and I have looked out for him on a number of occasions.

"But this is about Liam's time keeping. It's nothing to do with him as a player or as a lad. In any walk of life you have to be on time for training. We had incidents last year, where players were late for the bus, and you move on. If Liam is late once or twice, even three or four maybe well and good, but when it is five, six or seven times then you have to draw the line."

Keane readily conceded that Miller was his reserve team's best player in Wednesday night's game against Bolton Wanderers but pointed out he had allowed other good players to leave for disciplinary reasons since arriving and would have no problem doing do again.

Critically, however, he went on to make it clear he will continue to consider Miller for selection for the first team while he is at the club and doing well and did not rule out playing him in tomorrow's important Premier League game at Derby.

"We will see if he plays on Saturday, if he is on time," said Keane.

"His reaction for the reserves was superb. He was the best on the pitch. It (his Sunderland career) is not over. If I don't get the calls, he keeps training well and is on time then he will be in my thoughts."

Keane also suggested, meanwhile, he would be willing to allow Anthony Stokes to go out on loan in order to help his long term development as a player.

"I have said many times before, he is a young man and we cannot expect too much, too soon from him," said the Corkman.

"We are all in danger of that, especially when players come to Sunderland. We think, 'Come on, go and produce.' But he is learning his trade and a few games in the reserves will do him no harm.

"And if he had to go out and get some other games at a Championship club or League One club, I don't think it would do him any harm."

Aston Villa left back Stephen O'Halloran made just such a move yesterday when he dropped two divisions in order to join Leeds United for a month.

The 20- year-old, who previously did well on loan to Wycombe Wanderers and then got just one game during a brief stint at Southampton goes straight into the squad for tomorrow's game against Swindon Town.

Leeds' assistant manager Steve Staunton, who capped O'Halloran twice in America last summer, is likely to have prompted the club's move for the young defender who has yet to gain a chance with the first team at Villa Park despite receiving encouraging reviews from manager Martin O'Neill.

Miller's agent, Eamon McLoughlin, last night described the handling of the situation by Keane and the club as "very disappointing".

"We accept that Liam was late three times in the past week," he said, "but on two of those occasions the situation was out of his control, one of these was a well-publicised accident on the A19.

"Liam is not casual in his approach to his profession and for the sake of his career, we need people to know that, at Sunderland and elsewhere.

"If the punishment fitted the crime Liam could accept this more easily, but I don't think it does. He'd still love to play for Sunderland but that is obviously not his decision to make."