Keane to give Diouf fresh start

Sunderland manager Roy Keane has said how delighted he is with new signing El Hadji Diouf.

He has also indicated how Dioufs past doesn`t bother him, as he will only judge the controversial striker during his time on Wearside.

Keane told the Sunderland Echo "You have to be careful with what you hear about players from other people."

"One thing I don't do as a manager is ring people and try and get opinions on players - I want to gauge them for myself."

"You never really know with any player you buy, but if I want to be a top manager then I can't shy away from different types of characters."

"El Hadji is a great signing for us and we're thrilled to get him in. He has bags of Premier League and international experience, which is exactly what we've been targeting this summer."

"He has always been the kind of player opposition teams and supporters love to hate - a thorn in the side - and that's why we're delighted to now have him in our squad."

Vital Sunderland Says

It`s good to see Keane is prepared to give Douif a clean slate at the SOL. He is a player of real quality if Keane can curb his controversial behaviour on the pitch he can a class act.

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