Sunderland manager Roy Keane has reiterated there is no timescale for him to agree a new contract at the Stadium of Light.

Keane has been holding discussions with Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn regarding an extension to his Wearside tenure.

The Irishman's current deal expires at the end of the season and he insists he is happy to stay in the role he took up over two years ago.

However, the former Manchester United captain admits he will not be signing a new deal with Sunderland until the terms are right.

"My contract situation is not really important," said Keane on Sky Sports News. "There's been talks, we've had one or two rounds of talks and that will continue.

"There is not a timescale on this and that's important for everyone to know - there's no timescale.
"If I've said it once, I've said it a billion times - I'm very, very happy at the football club.

"I'm delighted with the support I've got. I'm delighted with the players and the staff, and the support I've been given. Hopefully that will continue.

"Obviously, the bottom line is that until the contract is right I won't be signing anything." Keane, meanwhile, is not allowing himself to get too excited about the prospect of unleashing Djibril Cisse and Kenwyne Jones as a partnership.

Jones is back in training after suffering knee ligament damage on international duty against England in June, and has an outside chance of making next weekend's Wear-Tyne derby clash with Newcastle.

The 24-year-old Trinidad and Tobago star has been sorely missed following an impressive first season in the top flight which prompted Keane to value him at £40million rather than the £6million he paid for him.

But his absence has been countered to some extent by the arrival of loan signing Cisse, a man whose ability has marked him out as rare talent since his early days in the game.

The Frenchman turned in an excellent performance as a lone frontman in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal a fortnight ago, and could be employed in similar fashion at Fulham.

However, the prospect of them two men joining forces within weeks is an appetising one for Keane, although he is taking nothing for granted.

The Irishman said: "I am not really excited yet. I will be pleased when Kenwyne is back in the first-team fold.

"I suppose punters out there or media will automatically think it's a dream partnership, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.

"We believe when Kenwyne is fit and with our other strikers, they can be a handful. "Sometimes you are only as good as your goalscorers. You see that with a lot of teams, you see that with a lot of international teams.

"If you have got somebody capable of putting the ball in the back of the net, my God, it makes a hell of a difference to you.

"But again, we all have to be patient. Kenwyne has been out for a long time. We can't expect him to come back and hit the ground running.

"But we have got a busy time ahead and if he is available for us, like young Martyn Waghorn, those two lads have got a good chance of being involved over the next few months.

"But it might need two or three reserve games for them."

The impending returns of Jones and teenager Waghorn today led to Republic of Ireland striker Anthony Stokes being sent out on loan to Coca-Cola Championship Sheffield United.

Stokes, 20, caught the eye of international boss Giovanni Trapattoni last week, but has been unable to establish himself as a first-team regular at the Stadium of Light since his £2million switch from Arsenal in July 2006.

Keane said: "It will be nice for him to get a run of games because I keep saying, he is a talented boy."

Teemu Tainio could return at Fulham after recovering from a shoulder injury, but Dwight Yorke is unlikely to figure after playing in both of Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup qualifiers during the international break, much to Keane's annoyance.

Fatigue will not be a problem, however, for fellow Black Cats midfielder Andy Reid, whose recent absence from the Ireland team under Trapattoni has sparked an ongoing national debate in his native country.

Keane has advised Reid simply to keep doing what he is doing. He said: "There's nothing wrong with players getting frustrated. Players get frustrated every day of the week - I used to. It's how you channel it.

"There is no problem with Andy. There has been a big issue made in Ireland about it, but not from our point of view. The manager over there can pick the team he wants.

"Andy didn't get in, Liam Miller didn't get in, Daryl Murphy didn't get in, Anthony Stokes didn't get in - no-one seems to be talking about them. It's no problem.

"There's no need to complicate it. If he can do well for Sunderland and keep getting selected for the Irish squads, hopefully he will get his chance."

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