Keane: Poor Defending Cost Us Dearly Roy Keane has singled out his defence as the weakest link in team, after Sunderland conceded two goals to Totten

“Our shabby defending will hurt our chances of survival in the Premiership.”

That’s the opinion of Sunderland boss Roy Keane, who admitted if his team fail to improve on their defending, they could soon find themselves fighting a really tough relegation battle.

“The two goals were a result of poor defending from my players. That’s the harsh reality of the Premiership,” he told BBC Sport after the match.

With Tottenham dominating much of the first half proceedings, Sunderland were restricted to mere half chances.

But Keane rallied his troops during the half time team talk, which inspired the Black Cats to stage a strong resistance in the second 45 minutes.

"I find it amazing we [Sunderland] didn't get anything out of the game, to be honest. We fought back well in the second half and forced a couple of brilliant saves from their keeper,” said the former Manchester United midfielder bitterly.

"However, you can't defend like we did on the two goals and expect to win matches away from home in the Premier League.”

Despite the 2-0 defeat at White Hart Lane, Keane managed to witness plenty of ‘positives’ from the match. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon did well to deny Tottenham forwards Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov from scoring. And, he was encouraged by the determination shown by his players in the second half.

"There are positives from the game - our performance got better as the game went on and our keeper was outstanding again. We'll have to work on them and look forward to our next match," he added.

Keane Rates Kenwyne Jones At £40m! Sunderland coach Roy Keane has raised eyebrows by heralding Kenwyne Jones as "the best striker in the Premier Leag

The 23-year-old Trinidadian striker was Keane's marquee signing ahead of their return to the top division, having arrived on a £6m deal from Southampton. Although he is nowhere near the top of the scoring charts, with five goals so far in his 18 Sunderland games, his boss is more than happy with the return.

"Look at the top strikers and they probably get four or five chances a game," Keane began to explain. "Kenwyne gets one every four or five weeks.

"But it is his assists and overall play, his defensive work at set-pieces, which has impressed me.

"That's what we need. He is living off the crumbs and a lot of what he gets is down to himself.

"He is a good team player and you often find the top strikers are not team players, they're just about goals. But Kenwyne isn't, I wouldn't swap him.

"In my eyes, he's the best striker in the Premier League. If certain strikers are worth £20m he is worth £40m."

Keane Hails Richardson, Eyes Safety Sunderland manager Roy Keane was full of praise for his side’s display as they overcame eighth-placed Portsmouth

Keane reserved special praise for the scorer of both goals, Keiran Richardson, and while he admitted that the performance still left room for improvement, he felt that his side had done themselves justice in securing all three points which sees them level on points with fifteenth-placed Bolton Wanderers but remain in the bottom three.

“I’m not sure if that was the best performance of the season, but it was very good. A clean sheet and two goals, which could have been more, means it was a really good team effort. It was a very good day for us.

“This was a response to last weekend, but I knew the players would do that. There had been negative energy from outside the club, but our home form hasn’t been too bad. We were ready for the game.

“Keiran came to the club for what you saw today. He’s one of the quickest players I’ve seen across over five or ten yards. He can get you a goal. It’s a massive plus. We’ve had to throw him in.”

The Black Cats' manager also had some positive words for striker Kenwyne Jones who was a constant danger to the Pompey defence.

“Kenwyne has been a big plus for. There are some players we struggle to do well without and he’s one of them and he wasn’t even properly fit. Maybe only 60 or 70 percent fit. I don’t like to ask players to play when they’re like that, but I’m pleased with him.”

The 36-year old now feels that his side can use the result as a springboard for their forthcoming matches as they look to climb away from the relegation places.

“There are three min tables and it’s important we finish top of our league. We’re still in touch. It’ll be nip and tuck from now until the end of the season.

The Sunderland fans will have been delighted with their team’s display in a game that few could have expected them to win and will be looking for a similar display in their next league match away to Tottenham Hotspurs.