Niall Quinn has hailed Roy Keane for “conquering the demon” of Sunderland's reputation as a yo-yo club and expressed confidence that the manager will soon accept a renewed contract.. While Sunderland are assured of at least one more season in the Barclays Premier League, delight has given way to determination. After the credit comes the crunch.

Quinn, the Sunderland chairman, will address members of his Drumaville Consortium, which bought the club nearly two years ago, in a routine meeting today. When Keane was appointed 20 months ago, Sunderland were 23rd in the Coca-Cola Championship and their rise has been heady. “Another step on the journey has been taken, but there's still a long way to go,” Quinn said. “Nobody should get carried away.”

As Quinn put it, Keane's two years at Sunderland have been “box office” and the club have no intention of losing their star attraction. Keane has only one more season of his contract to serve and although the Irishman is at ease with that position, he will sign an extension provided that the club continue to invest in the transfer market.

“What we must do now is to provide - and keep providing - the structure Roy needs to keep us moving forward,” Quinn said. “But we have great trust in each other, we've had it from the start and I take at face value the way Roy feels. A contract is only a piece of paper. What's most important is the direction we're heading in.

“I wouldn't dream of standing in front of Roy and asking him to sign something if I wasn't sure about that. People may think I'm naive and that I should be worried about him getting poached, but they have to remember the trust that's between us. Both he and I are here for the same thing, the same reasons. We know the potential there is, the terrific fan base, the stadium, the training ground, the facilities.

“The club is on an exciting upward path. We'll get around to Roy's contract, but it's not the typical contract situation that you might find goes on with players. It's refreshing. There will be nobody playing games, no problems with agents. Once we've had a larger discussion about where we can take the club, I'm sure it'll be a 15-minute meeting to sort it out.

“There has never been any friction in the relationship with Roy, myself and the investors. Everybody has a bounce in their step today, but it's important we keep looking forward. The day you start getting plaudits should be a warning. I'm not going to sit back and let this club get pats on the back.”

There have been some testing moments - the 7-1 thrashing away to Everton in November, injuries, poor officiating, defeat by Newcastle United, their fierce local rivals - but relegation has been avoided. “I'm most thrilled for the people with this club in their hearts, for the town and what it means to the region,” Quinn said. “We want to kick on, but maybe people will start to feel like they're following a top club again.”

Quinn described the spirit of Keane's team as magnificent and also had words of praise for Sunderland's Irish benefactors. “We've put the Drumaville people, who have backed me financially and emotionally, through the mill,” Quinn said. “I had to turn my mobile phone off when we lost at Everton, but it's been on since Saturday and I've been taking calls from all over the world. It's been great.

“They're all self-made men and they brought some unnecessary risk into their lives, but they can see we're all going the right way and that their investment has been justified.”