Blackburn Rovers 1 Sunderland 2: PROJECT SUNDERLAND is back on track for now, with Roy Keane dismissing reports of his demise and his leading striker outlining what the manager can achieve after a second away victory of the season placed the club mid-table.

Djibril Cisse, a key player in the Drumaville Consortium's plan to establish Sunderland as a force in the Premier League, cited Keane as the deciding factor in enticing him to England's northeast.

"Sixty per cent was down to him, 40 per cent because of the Project Sunderland AFC," said the former Liverpool and Marseille striker. "They have great ambitions and want to be one of the top six, eight, 10 teams.

"Roy Keane is really important to that plan. He is someone with a lot of passion, a lot of desire to achieve great things for the club. He's a great role model for the players. If you want to be a good footballer, you have to fight for it."

However, in the first half the only fight came from Paul Ince's Blackburn. Cue a passionate half-time team talk: "I obviously said a few words," said Keane.

Cisse was inspired. "I can't really tell you what was said because that's between the players and the manager. But it was good for us . . . The manager found the right words for us."

Usually a phlegmatic character on the touchline, Keane cracked a smile when the striker left the field to shake his hand after his fifth goal of the season. "I wanted to share my joy with him," said Cisse.

Commenting on the rumours that he had resigned, Keane said: "If I was going to answer rumours, we would be here all night. People put two and two together and come up with 10. It is just stupid.

"Last year I had it with players in nightclubs, players taking this, players saying this. It seems to happen in the northeast quite a bit. There used to be talk about Newcastle players, now it is Sunderland players. There is no logic to it.

"I look at my players and I don't think it has affected them. When I reported to meet the team, I think they were more disappointed than anyone I hadn't resigned!"

Blackburn deservedly took the lead in first-half stoppage time, via a Chris Samba header. Four minutes after Keane's chat Sunderland levelled when Paul Robinson fluffed a Kieran Richardson corner under pressure from Nyron Nosworthy. Kenwyne Jones nudged the poor clearance in.

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