Roy Keane has his sights set higher than any previous Sunderland manager. That's the view of former Black Cats defender Richard Ord, who believes the duo of Keane and Niall Quinn will bring unparalleled success to Wearside.
Ord made 256 appearances for Sunderland between 1987 and 1998, before leaving for QPR in a £1m-plus deal.
A serious knee injury ended his career in his first training session at his new club, but he still cherishes his 1996 First Division championship winners medal.
Forming an integral part of Peter Reid's defence, Ord is well-placed to compare this latest Premiership adventure with his personal experience and subsequent events.
Hailing Keane's immediate impact, Ord said: "Keane is without doubt the most ambitious manager the club has ever had, and he will want to do a whole lot more than just see Sunderland survive in the Premiership.
"When Sunderland were in the top division and went as high as second, Reid was openly admitting it was not sustainable, but with Keane you certainly get the impression that however high they go, he will expect them to maintain that.
"And those high expectations, backed up with the confidence a manager like Keane can give the players, is a fantastic thing."
Ord said he would have relished working under a boss like the former Manchester United midfielder.
He said: "It would have been brilliant to play for someone like that - with all his experience of working and playing for managers like Sir Alex Ferguson, it would be very interesting to see what ideas and styles of management he brings to the job.
"And he has done fantastically well in such a short space of time already.
"He has recruited well and instilled that all-important confidence, which immediately seemed to bring players up and take them to a higher level again.
"But also Niall Quinn deserves a lot of credit too, because he has worked hard behind the scenes and it certainly seems as though there will be funds in place for some exciting transfers.
"It is an exciting time now, and one in which Sunderland can really establish themselves in the league and ruffle a few feathers.
"That's not to say it will be easy, because there will certainly be times where they lose two or three games on the trot.
"And then it is about how they bounce back. But with someone like Keane in charge he's hardly going to give his players much option in that regard."
Ord said the most telling factor in terms of the quality jump from Championship to Premiership will be in the final third of the pitch.
He believes goals will be tougher to come by, hence the midfield and attack might need the heaviest investment.
He said: "When we were up there we felt like we had a decent enough defence, but if we fell behind it was a worry as to where the goal was going to come from to get back into things.
"I think the back four have done really well this season and can probably do OK, but the biggest change will always be in terms of how to score the goals you'll need.
"And I just think Keane needs a bit more quality there -if he can get that, then who knows what might happen."
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