Premier League strugglers Sunderland have confirmed that manager Roy Keane has left the club.

Keane's future at the Stadium of Light had been under increasing scrutiny in recent days following the team's slump in form.

He has been holding talks with chairman Niall Quinn and the rest of the board over the past couple of days and the discussions have resulted in the manager's departure.

The former Republic of Ireland international took charge in August 2006 and he made an immediate impact as he guided Sunderland to the Championship title the following May.

Last season the club consolidated their place in the top flight and Keane's task this term was to make an assault on the top half of the table.

With that in mind, Sunderland backed Keane by spending nearly £30million on new players with the likes of Djibril Cisse, Pascal Chimbonda, Anton Ferdinand, El-Hadji Diouf and George McCartney all coming in.

However, despite a morale-boosting Wear-Tyne victory over rivals Newcastle - their first since 1980 - Sunderland's form and place in the league has plummeted.

Just two wins in ten league games has put them in the bottom three, and speculation has been rife in the North East over the last month that Keane was ready to walk away from the club.

He admitted last weekend after a 4-1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers that he was questioning whether he was the right man to lead the Black Cats forward.

Former Sunderland defender, and ex-Newcastle United boss, Sam Allardyce has been installed as the early favourite to replace Keane.