Will Roy Keane pull the plug on his career as a manager?

Roy Keane faces a series of difficult questions as he debated his future yesterday - and even he was wondering whether he was the man with the answers.

- Can he work to the exacting target-driven demands of new majority shareholder and major investor Ellis Short?

- Is his sometimes brutal personality crushing the dressing room morale?

- Has he lost the goodwill of his players?

- Can he keep control of potentially troublesome stars that include Pascal Chimbonda and El Hadji Diouf?

- Does he have the appetite for a fight in the glare of the public eye with his reputation on the line?

- Or will his first crisis cause a retreat into the relative sanity of family life and retirement away from the game?

Keane has been given free reign to build Sunderland from top to bottom, and £80million to spend on players over the last 27 months, backed by chairman Niall Quinn and his Irish Drumaville consortium.

But the dynamics of that changed this summer with a share-issue that saw Short take a 30 per cent stake and help inject £50m into the club.

Keane spent the cash, but the bonanza also meant a new man and tough questions, especially when contract talks stalled making planning for the future difficult.

Despite taking Sunderland from the bottom of the Championship to promotion and then masterminding Premier League survival last season, challenges to Keane's authority have mounted over the last five weeks.

If the 37-year-old stays he must realise he has to win back his players, amid fears that some individuals have switched off in the face of his man-management methods.

Keane models himself on the often quirky, and always tough, Brian Clough - but the love Clough displayed at crucial moments is not a trait his advisors, as they face their first big crisis together after six defeats in seven games.

Keane was spared a trip to the Sunderland reserves last night against his old club Manchester United, which was postponed because of snow, allowing further discussions to take place. But after 27 months with the Black Cats, it was Keane who raised the prospect that he might not be the right man for the job five days ago.

Keane, who is still backed by most of the fans, has spent the week reflecting on a 4-1 home defeat to Bolton. Last Friday he hinted he "may not be a football manager for very long". And a day later he said he "might wake up one day and think the job is not for him".

Keane has the immediate backing of Quinn and major shareholder Ellis Short, as long as he can put together a plan to lift the mood and results at the Stadium of Light.

Keane likes to reveal. Mixing in a human side, which he regularly shows in his press briefings, would help.

After using 27 players this season, more than any other Premier League club, he also has to quickly discover his best team and stick with it.

Keane's recent decisions have included dropping Anton Ferdinand, who apart from his performance against West Ham, looked to be developing into the club's top defender.

Chimbonda, who he fell out with over discipline, was recalled against Bolton, showing Keane is prepared to give second chances.

Keane has been involved in 100 transfer deals in and out, and a bloated squad needs trimming to stop discontented players from souring the atmosphere.

A new contract for Keane fell off the agenda in recent weeks as form slumped.

Perhaps if one has been signed and sealed earlier, his position would have been strengthened.

Keane accepts some of the criticism, including signing too many players too quickly.

Amazingly Keane admits that he once took a look at a player he signed and knew it was a mistake - just a fortnight after he had arrived.

Fans have been left in no doubt that Keane hurts when his side loses. His 100th game in charge last week brought a 41st defeat (including 42 wins and 17 draws) and that is a lot of pain for a perfectionist.

Admitting he cannot sleep after defeats, and losing his appetite for food for a couple of days, shows that he cares.

Should Keane stay, and that was up in the air last night, games against West Brom and Hull before Christmas will assume a greater significance.

Yet victories against their fellow strugglers may well prove a temporary reprieve if defeats continue elsewhere.

The choice for Keane appears clear. Stick with the best crack of making it as a fast-track Prem boss that he'll ever get, or chuck it in and confirm all the fears about his personality that were wheeled out by his critics.

Quinn announced the arrival of a new chief executive last night, Steve Walton, the man Keane would have to work closely with on transfer plans.

The former Barclays executive and Newcastle United director said: "Having attended Sunderland games from an early age with my grandfather in the Clock Stand at Roker Park, I never imagined that one day I would be sitting alongside Niall Quinn in the directors' box at the Stadium of Light and steering the club I have supported all my life."

Whether Keane is part of that will become clearer today.

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