Ramos Reveals Keane Admiration Spurs boss Juande Ramos has admitted he would have loved to have signed Roy Keane as a player despite his famous shor

As Ramos prepares to welcome Keane’s Sunderland side to White Hart Lane this afternoon, he says there is unlikely to ever be a player who is as combative and inspirational as Keane was for Manchester United.

"Players like Roy Keane are essential in any team" Ramos said. "I loved him as a player and I would have loved to have bought a player like him now.

"He had such personality and energy which he brought to the group and sadly players like him are disappearing little by little.

"You can never say there won't be a player like him again, but it's just very difficult to find one with such a strong character and personality.

"I don't know why it's the case that there are no longer players like him; it's something a footballer carries inside himself. It's not something you can teach, it's something you have naturally."

Despite this admiration, Ramos is determined to get one over the Sunderland boss and gain revenge for Spurs’ opening day defeat at the Stadium of Light.

"We lost to Sunderland in the first game of the season," Ramos explained.

"We have to recover our position now that things are improving. We've made a few changes in defence and little by little we are finding a solution to this.

"In the last couple of games nobody has scored a set-piece against us and that is good."