Last weekend's 1-0 victory at Aston Villa - the Black Cats' first on the road this season - has rekindled hopes they can drag themselves clear of the scrap against relegation.

Keane's men face Alan Curbishley's West Ham United on Saturday, and the Irishman knows that a second successive victory would represent another major step forward.

He said: "We have great belief - I see it on the training pitch every day. There is a confidence that we will get things right here.

"We are all impatient on this planet and I am no different, but you have to recognise how far the club has come, and we are trying to build.

"I believe I can get Sunderland up there, but it is going to be tough."