Roy Keane was this evening confirmed as Sunderland manager after signing a three-year deal said to be worth some £10 million.  He had earlier looked on as his new club won their first game of the Championship season.

The 35-year-old Corkman was in the Stadium of Light director's box to see Sunderland beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0. Dean Whitehead and Neill Collins combined to herald a new era and kill off Bryan Robson's side.

Although the stadium was nowhere near full, supporters still chanted Keane's name prior to and during the match.

Chairman Niall Quinn said Keane's arrival marked a major coup for the club and insisted their very public falling out following the Saipan debacle four years ago was now well behind them.

"All managers and chairmen have rows," Quinn joked. "We just got all ours out of the way over the last few years."

Quinn then urged Sunderland fans to support "one of football's true greats" as he embarks on his first stint in management.

"The fact that one of the most influential figures in world football is willing to come and help unlock the massive potential here should make all Sunderland fans very happy and excited for the future.

"Roy Keane's standards of professionalism are legendary and his desire and determination to succeed are precisely what this club requires.

"You only have to spend a short amount of time in Roy's company to realise just how impressive he is," Quinn added. "It was virtually a case of him interviewing us rather than the other way round.

"There are many people shaking their heads wondering how we have managed to pull it off. In a way, I am feeling like that too. We are fortunate to have him.  He is here and it is happening."

Although Keane's appointment is now rubber-stamped, he is not expected to comment until his official press conference tomorrow.

It was confirmed, however, that Leicester City's Tony Loughlan - a former roommate of Keane's during his Nottingham Forest days - will act as head coach, scotching rumours Brian Kidd was readied for that particular role.

Kidd, though, could still be appointed as Keane's assistant.

Both Keane and Loughlan were introduced to the players after a training session yesterday but the new manager did not pick the team for today's game.

"When Roy was introduced to the players yesterday, you could almost see them standing an inch or two taller thinking 'we are going to be working with that man, that is incredible," revealed Quinn.

"Possibly, the players are a bit scared. I hope they are, not in the sense they will under-perform but that they will give their all when they go training. This is a very demanding place but standards are going to have to be lifted."

Following that meeting, Sunderland confirmed Keane had agreed to become manager.

Writing in his programme notes ahead of today's match, Quinn acknowledged the club needed to shed its losing mentality, "not just in the dressing room but the club as a whole."

"We have an outstanding candidate for manager who is capable of altering the state of mind of an entire region," the former striker wrote.

This may yet prove the case but owing to this weekend's international break it will be another 12 days - when Sunderland face Derby away - before Keane steps into the dugout.