Niall Quinn, the Sunderland chairman, says he is in no rush to persuade manager Roy Keane to sign a new contract.

Keane, who has only one year remaining on his current deal, is preparing to return to pre-season training this Friday amid reports he is about to sign a new four-year deal.

However both he and his former Republic of Ireland team-mate are relaxed about discussing a contract extension. Quinn remains confident that talks will take place in the near future, insisting the pair share a mutual trust.

"It's actually something that Roy and I don't talk about as much as perhaps the media or other people," Quinn said. "Roy has been away a lot with his coaching course, but the players are back soon and as the whole thing gets going again, I'm sure we will sort that out."

The Sunderland chairman was adamant that the pair would reach an agreement at some stage.

"It [Keane's contract] is not an issue that has faltered - it has not even got going. There's a year left on his deal and we actually respect contracts at our level."

Keane became manager for Sunderland two years ago after Quinn persuaded him to begin his management career at the Stadium of Light. He guided the Black Cats to promotion to the Barclays Premier League on their first attempt before securing their status there last season.

Keane is now working on strengthening his squad ahead of the new season in order to avoid another battle for survival after completing his Uefa pro-licence during the close season. Quinn and the Sunderland board have backed their manager to date although they are cautious about getting carried away, despite Keane's progress.

"We realised that this journey had five steps," he added. "Step one was to get back into the Premier League and we allowed Roy plenty of time to do it - we had a three-year plan - but Roy being Roy, did it in one year. Step two was to consolidate our place in the Premier League, to take a deep breath and to build. We've done that."

Quinn is now looking to the future, saying: "Step three, now, is to give our fans a year free from relegation worry. It would be another form of consolidation. After that, breaking into the top five in the league is the aim."

Sunderland's chairman, however, was keen to stress the need to be realistic.

"We don't dream here, we aim, and there's no point in aiming too high, too early. We have got to build more solidly."