Now as he prepares for Saturday’s Coca-Cola Championship visit of Sheffield Wednesday to the Stadium of Light, he is promising to be ruthless.

“You only find out about certain individuals and people after a setback,” Keane said.

“You have got to look at it, see where you want to go and think who you want to take with you.

“Every player will get a chance, but if they do not take it, that is the decision I will have to look at.

“As much as you look at players in training and even in a reserve game, you do not get a real taste until you see them in a proper match atmosphere with the crowds and an element of pressure.

“Over the last three or four weeks some players have come to the forefront and really impressed me and some have taken a backward step.

“That has probably disappointed me more than anything else, but we just get on with it, trying to get the best 11 players.”

Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Ipswich followed a disappointing performance in the 1-1 home draw with Leicester and served to dampen expectation on Wearside.

However, Keane is determined to return to winning ways this weekend and insisted he would not worry about upsetting people along the way.

He told the club’s official website, www.safc.com: “I have been at the club for four weeks and the team situation is probably exactly the way I thought it would be.

“I have been fair to most of the players, I have given players opportunities to perform and there are tough decisions ahead of me.

“The priority for me is trying to get a settled team. I think I have been fair to most of the players.

“I gave one or two of them the benefit of the doubt after the Leicester game, but on Saturday one or two disappointed.

“Where we are trying to go, there are going to be a lot of disappointments ahead.”