Keane: Give them time!
Sunderland Echo
By Graeme Anderson
Boss pleads for patience with Whitehead, Edwards
SUNDERLAND fans should not expect miracles from returning stars Dean Whitehead and Carlos Edwards straight away, says Roy Keane.
The Black Cats' boss is as pleased as any supporter to have the two midfield maestros back in the side. But from his own experience, he knows it is wrong to expect players to show their very best form immediately after returning from long-term injury.
Captain Whitehead has been out since August with knee ligament damage while Trinidad & Tobago winger Edwards has been missing for a similar spell with a hamstring problem.
Whitehead returned to action in last weekend's 7-1 mauling at Everton while Edwards made his comeback in the previous game, which saw a vibrant Sunderland held to a draw by Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne derby.
Both were played in today's crunch 1-0 win over Derby County, but Keane says it will take time for them to hit their true form. He said: "Deano is an important player for us but he has been out for three months and we are hardly in a situation where we can bed him in gently.
"We've thrown him straight back in and we're hoping he will be the main man, but it takes time. It takes time for a player to come back into a side after a long injury even when they are coming into a side that's at the top, never mind in the position where we are.
"It's the same with Carlos. We keep saying that Deano and Carlos are back now but it's going to take a good few games before they are properly back in the swing of things - especially when we're expecting them to come back and be our main players again.
"We've all got to be patient."
Whitehead's reintroduction against Everton last weekend went horribly awry and Keane admitted this week that he got his team selection wrong at Goodison Park.
The skipper started the game at right-back – a position he has proved in the past he can play, but not where he is is at his most effective. And he looked far more like his old self when switched to his normal central midfield role at half-time, even though by then Sunderland were 3-1 down and on their way to defeat.
Keane said: "I picked the team last week and got it wrong. We saw that when Deano moved into the middle of the park in the second half he gives us a lot of energy in there.
"There's no doubt that that is his best position and I know that, but obviously I got it wrong last week."
The full article contains 445 words and appears in n/a newspaper.Last Updated: 02 December 2007
