The Frenchman scored his fifth goal of the campaign in his side's 2-1 win at Ewood Park on Saturday as the Black Cats ended a run of four defeats with a 2-1 victory.

It moved them out of the Barclays Premier League's bottom three and up to 11th place.

Cisse says his improved second-half display and goal came after a half-time talk from manager Keane.

"I can't tell you what was said because that's between the players and the manager, but he found the right words to give us a boost," said the Frenchman. "He got the best out of me because of what he said.

Bit annoyed

"He got me a bit annoyed and I wanted to show him that I can score goals and work hard."

He continued: "When I joined Sunderland, 60 per cent was down to him and the other 40 per cent was because of the project here.

"He knows how to get the best out of players and he knows what works and when. He played at the top level so he knows how players work and think.

"He knows the job. He's a big character. I'm a big character and he knows how to deal with characters. He showed that against Blackburn."