ROY Keane knows that he faces a race against time to bring success to Portman Road.

ROY Keane knows that he faces a race against time to bring success to Portman Road.

And history suggests that the Irishman might not even get the credit that he deserves, even if he ultimately achieves promotion, after his past experiences at Sunderland.

“I know what I’ve got to do, and I know where I want to bring the club, but I suppose the answer to every manager is how much time are you going to get?” explained Keane.

“To that end, I try not to live in next week; I try and live in today.

“I didn’t go home the other night thinking I’m the new Bobby Robson. I’m 39 years of age, and I’ve got a hell of a lot to learn,” added Keane, who guided his side to back-to-back home wins over Northampton and Millwall last week.

Town are currently 11th in the table, but more importantly just one point adrift of the play-offs, going into Saturday’s trip to stuttering Sheffield United. They are also in the last eight of the Carling Cup.

Keane clinched promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland in 2006-07, having propelled them from 23rd spot to the title in just eight months, and then kept them up the following season, before eventually resigning in December, 2008, with the team in the relegation zone.

For much of his stay at Portman Road, since his appointment 18 months ago, Keane has tended to play down his achievements at the Stadium of Light.

But the credit given to other managers has encouraged Keane to beef up his own record at Sunderland.

“Maybe I should have got more credit for winning promotion with Sunderland?” questioned Keane.

“I see other managers getting unbelievable credit for getting promoted, and other managers when they keep the team up, getting new contracts.

“I did that (at Sunderland), and the following season although I had a difficult three or four weeks, we were still averaging a point a game in the Premiership, and we had lots of injuries.

“I think, when you’re starting out, that’s not bad going, because I see other managers getting a pat on the back for doing it.

“The remit they are given, if they get promoted, is that they stay up.

“At Sunderland, it was just Roy Keane, and it’s to be expected. All of a sudden you lose a few matches and you haven’t got a clue about the game.

“But other clubs, I see managers go through spells when they don’t win for two or three months and nothing is ever written.

“I suppose that’s the name of the game.

“I think the intelligent supporters understand where we are at, and look at the bigger picture.

“Yet when we lose one or two games, like the other week, people’s jobs are at stake for some reason, which is cheap headlines.

“But I don’t expect that to change, because I live in the real world,” added Keane.