Roy Keane is happy to take the pressure of Sunderland's Barclays Premier League struggle squarely on his shoulders.

The 36-year-old saw his side slip back into the bottom three with their 1-0 defeat at Blackburn on January 2nd, and the mood on Wearside was not improved by Saturday's 3-0 FA Cup home defeat to Wigan.

Keane's men head into Sunday's clash with away-day specialists Portsmouth desperately needing to return to winning ways. But the Corkman insists he will act as shield for his players as they get on with the business of trying to collect precious points.

He said: "Yes of course, you have got to try to do that. But then again, players aren't daft, they know the position we are in. Games like the one at Blackburn are probably a lot more frustrating that losing 4-0 to United and 7-1 at Everton because they were games we were totally outplayed in.

"But you cannot keep letting these opportunities slip you by. They come back to haunt you."

Keane felt his side should have returned from Ewood Park with something to show for their efforts — Dean Whitehead missed a penalty before Benni McCarthy won the game from the spot — as another good opportunity passed them by.

Reading's controversial late winner last month and the disallowed goal which denied the Black Cats victory over Aston Villa a week later have not helped their cause. However, the manager insists there can be no room for self pity and that chances must be taken.

He said: "Something has got to be done about that — and trust me, there will be. We have got to get the right people in with the right mentality who will take the club to the next stage.

"I have said many, many times before: getting promoted last year was the easy part; it is now getting on to the next level. I have had this discussion after so many games — we nearly got something.

"We nearly got something against (Manchester) City, we nearly got something against West Ham, we nearly got something at Reading, but we didn't. We nearly got something at Blackburn, but we didn't.

"It's not good enough and it will be sorted."

To that end, Keane and chairman Niall Quinn having been working to attract new signings to the club after securing Jonny Evans' services on loan.

Robbie Savage's decision to opt for Derby saw one target slip away, while Reading are proving stubborn in the face of Sunderland's pursuit of Stephen Hunt.

Reports suggest Pompey's Matt Taylor has turned down the chance to head north, and Keane has since been linked with Birmingham's out-of-favour midfielder Olivier Kapo.  PA