Can the new double act cut out all the bitching? As thankless tasks go, it should rank alongside working as OJ Simpson's agent but, Stuart Rayner argues, going to Old Trafford might not seem such a daunting prospect for Sunderland today.

ON the face of it, there is not a lot about the prospect of 90 minutes of football on a cold Saturday night at the home of the English and European champions to look forward to, but after the week Sunderland's players have just had, they may actually see it as a release.

Seven days ago, they were enduring a particularly unpleasant spell of slow torture at the Stadium of Light. In freezing conditions they were booed collectively and individually by a group of angry fans as their mistakes contributed to a 4-1 defeat which pushed the team into the bottom three and ultimately saw Roy Keane depart.

Although the Irishman never explained his reasons for choosing to spend more time with his dogs, the fact his players looked such a demoralised, bedraggled mob that day was almost certainly the decisive factor.

They looked every bit as miserable as the performance they put in against Bolton Wanderers. So many players fell in and out of favour with Keane that everyone knew they were one mistake away from being dropped. And it showed.

It was not just on-the-field misdemeanours, either. Eight million pound centre-back Anton Ferdinand was benched after gifting West Ham United the only goal of the previous game.

Conspiracy theorists believe it had more to do with the pre-match interview he gave to Sky television in which the Londoner made clear he had been reluctant to leave Upton Park in the summer. What is certain is that he was not the first Black Cats player to get the "tumble dryer" treatment for Keane for shouting his mouth off on TV.

With Keane only an occasional visitor to the Academy of Light training ground this season, it all contributed to an atmosphere of fear which the Irishman was happy to encourage but which spectacularly backfired on him.

With his dour Scottish persona, his imposing build and his defender's nose, it is hard to picture 52-year-old Ricky Sbragia as a good cop, but the very bad cop has definitely moved on and now the task falls to him to win back a dressing room which had seemed lost.

The players Sbragia picks to face Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils today will instantly look on him in a more favourable light, particularly if they were cold shouldered by his predecessor.

Who knows, he might even remember what Keane appeared to have forgotten - that David Healy was brought to the club because of a track record for scoring goals, not just to even up the sides in training. But such was the size of the squad Keane assembled, there are always going to be more players out of the team than in.

Whereas Keane made a point of cutting himself off from the squad - with a deadly straight face he once claimed one of his biggest mistakes in management had been sitting on a table with the players in the canteen before training - Sbragia is making plans to reconnect with them. His chief ally in the task is armed with the widest smile in football.

Dwight Yorke was another who spectacularly fell out of favour with Keane. They were once an unlikely couple, the uber professional and the party animal. Yorke was the constant butt of Keane's jokes until early this season the laughing stopped.

The midfielder was labelled a "clown" for having the temerity to come out of international retirement at the age of 36. He was seldom seen in the first team again and last week was close to joining Newcastle Jets in the Australian League.

Now the former Manchester United player is an assistant manager, albeit a temporary one. "Yorkie's experience will be beneficial and he will be able to deal with the dressing room," Sbragia said.

Yorke's ability to bring a little levity to proceedings will be vital. Enjoyment must be the theme of Sbragia's caretaker management, and not only in the dressing room.

"We've got to go there, get our side right and get a performance," says the former Manchester United reserve team coach of today's clash. "Hopefully they (the Red Devils) are under the weather, we need to get a bit of luck.

"I want to see us perform like we are enjoying the game. We've been doing okay but the biggest problem is we have not been ruthless in front of goal - and we have made too many mistakes.

"We've got to go there, be together and try to get a performance and get something out of the game. No one give us any hope but you never know in football, we'll give it our best shot."

In all probability, Sunderland will go to Old Trafford and take a good hiding.

But last week it would have been an absolute certainty. The weight lifted off a footballer's shoulders by the sacking of their manager can do funny things to the mind.

"So many players fell in and out of favour with Keane that everyone knew they were one mistake away from being dropped - and it showed

Watch the goals on www.journallive.co.uk

Highlights from Sunderland's game at Old Trafford will be available online from midnight on Monday.

MATCHBOX

MANCHESTER UNITED

Team News: Despite suffering no reaction from Wednesday's cameo appearance against Blackburn Rovers, Sir Alex Ferguson has decided not to consider Paul Scholes. That is perhaps a measure of the Scot's confidence, and the fact that if Darren Fletcher overcomes a hamstring injury, he will have an otherwise virtually full-strength squad to choose from.

Likely line-up (4-4-2)

1 Edwin VAN DER SAR 

21 Rafael DA SILVA

5 Rio FERDINAND

15 Nemanja VIDIC

3 Patrice EVRA

13 PARK Ji-Sung

16 Michael CARRICK

11 Ryan GIGGS

7 Cristiano RONALDO

10 Wayne ROONEY

32 Carlos TEVEZ

Substitute s:

2 Gary NEVILLE

8 ANDERSON Luis de Abreu Oliveira

9 Dimitar BERBATOV

17 Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha 'NANI'

22 John O'SHEA

24 Darren FLETCHER

29 Tomasz KUSZCZAK

SUNDERLAND

Team News: Today's game will be the first under the temporary management of Ricky Sbragia, with all the possibilities that offers for fresh starts open to those left out in the cold at the end of Roy Keane's reign. El-Hadji Diouf, who worked with the Scot at Bolton Wanderers will be hoping for a recall and Anton Ferdinand would like the chance to face his elder brother, Rio.

Likely line-up (4-4-2)

32 Marton FuLOP

2 Phil BARDSLEY

5 Nyron NOSWORTHY

26 Anton FERDINAND

21 Pascal CHIMBONDA

8 Steed MALBRANQUE

4 Teemu TAINIO

20 Andy REID

11 El-Hadji DIOUF

9 Djibril CISSE 

17 Kenwyne JONES

Substitute s:

6 Dean WHITEHEAD

7 Carlos EDWARDS

15 Danny COLLINS

18 Grant LEADBITTER

19 Dwight YORKE

23 David HEALY

46 Nick COLGAN

Last season:

Manchester United 1, Sunderland 0 (September 1, 2007)

Last five League games:

Manchester United;

Sunderland L L W L L

Match odds:

H 1-16; A 15-1; D 7-1.

Top scorers:

Manchester United - Cristiano Ronaldo 9; Sunderland - Djibril Cisse 6

Refere e:

Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire)

Head to Head (the League record):

Sunderland wins: 37

Draws: 26

Man United wins: 47

Kick-off: Today, 1730

TV: Live on Setanta Sports 1

CAPTION(S):

DROPPED Anton Ferdinand missed last week's home mauling by Bolton after being axed by Roy Keane following a below-par performance against former club West Ham a week earlier.; MORALE BOOSTER Ricky Sbragia, inset, believes Dwight Yorke, above, can play a major role in lifting spirits, whether or not he takes to the field, following the departure of Roy Keane.