WHAT MAY turn out to be a post-Roy Keane clear out of the Irish started at Sunderland yesterday with Graham Kavanagh and Roy O'Donovan leaving the club, the veteran midfielder for a player/coach role at Carlisle, the latter to Blackpool on loan until at least the end of the season.

For Kavanagh, the move ends a difficult two-and-a-half year spell at the Stadium of Light. The Dubliner initially made a positive impact as the club won promotion from the Championship but he was never really given a chance to make his mark at Premier League level with his campaign to win a place in the first team not helped by a recurring knee injury.

He had successful loan spells at other clubs but had previously failed to agree terms for the termination of his contract at Sunderland. He leaves now some six months before his deal was due to run out for Carlisle where he has been on a temporary basis for the past couple of months. "This is a new challenge for me, but one I'm looking forward to," he said yesterday. "I'm looking forward to combining the playing and coaching side of things."

Carlisle boss Greg Abbott said Kavanagh's attitude off the pitch was as important as the player's influence on it in persuading him to offer the former Republic of Ireland international an 18-month deal. "We've already seen the influence Graham brings into the dressingroom and out on the pitch and I think is a very good signing for us."

O'Donovan, meanwhile, could make his debut for Blackpool against Birmingham City today after completing a loan move until the summer. The 23-year-old Corkman was only recently recalled from a spell at Dundee United but appears to have been seen as surplus to requirements, at least for the present, by Keane's successor Ricky Sbragia.

"We're delighted to have signed Roy," said recently-appointed Blackpool boss Tony Parkes. "There were a lot of other clubs in for him . . . We are also grateful to Ricky Sbragia for allowing him to come to us until the end of the season. Roy has bags of pace and in Ireland he was a proven goal scorer. We are sure he will be a popular player with the supporters and will add something else to our squad."