Sunderland boss Roy Keane has warned he plans to axe some stars following last weekend's defeat at Bolton.
Four allowed to leave Stadium of Light
Sunderland boss Roy Keane has warned he plans to axe several stars following last weekend's defeat at Bolton.
Keane was furious with the performances of a number of his players in the 2-0 defeat at the Reebok Stadium.
The fiery Irishman has now promised to offload some players who failed to meet the standards required at the Reebok Stadium.
"Sometimes you need to lose to win and I saw last weekend one or two signs from one or two players that didn't please me one bit," Keane told
Sky Sports News.
"They will move on without a shadow of doubt and that will take place hopefully over the course of the summer."
Departures
Keane has already begun his reshaping of his squad after releasing Andy Cole, Ian Harte, Stephen Wright and Stanislav Varga.
The quartet have told they do not figure in Keane's long-term plans and they are free to find new clubs.
"I've sat down with Andy, Ian, Stephen and Stan and they won't be getting new contracts," Keane told the
Sunderland Echo.
"But I would like to put on record my gratitude for their contributions to this club - and I mean that.
"It might not be obvious to the fans how these players have contributed because they haven't made too many appearances between them this season. But they've all helped in their own way and we wish them all the best.
"I don't think it came as too much of a surprise to them but we are grateful for their efforts this season."
Talks
Meanwhile, Keane is holding talks with Dwight Yorke over a new deal at the Stadium of Light.
Yorke is out of contract in the summer and Keane says the former Manchester United and Aston Villa man is keen to prolong his stay on Wearside.
"I've had a good chat with Yorkie and we're due to chat again - so we've been doing a lot of chatting!
"I think Yorkie wants to play on for another year and he has options to consider. I understand that, and that's not a problem to me but as I say we're still chatting about things and we have to look to see what happens."
