Keane's future is firmly in the spotlight now after the big-spending Wearsiders fell into the relegation zone on the back of Saturday's 4-1 loss to Bolton – their fourth consecutive home defeat.

But Wilkinson, who won only four of his 27 games in charge of Sunderland during 2002-03, insists Keane is the real deal, and stability is key on Wearside.

He said: "They've enjoyed a meteoric rise under Roy, but you can't go from one pot of gold at the end of one rainbow to a pot of gold at the end of another one.

"Expectations change, but given what he has done up till now he has already proved he's no flash in the pan.

"Roy's shown he has character in bucket-loads, but this is not the time for him to show some character, it's the time for the directors to show character.

"They should have the courage to stand by their initial judgement when they appointed him and back him when things aren't going well, because statistics prove frequently changing managers does not work."

Few will give Sunderland a prayer when they go into their next game, ironically against the club where Keane had such a glorious playing career – Manchester United.

And Wilkinson believes that the travails Sir Alex Ferguson endured in his early days at United before launching the glory years is proof that clubs should stick with their managers during difficult times.

"Alex's record in the early days at Manchester United shows even special people at some stage can have problems," Wilkinson added.

"It's a mere maelstrom at the moment. He's hit stormy water, but at least half of all Premier League clubs at some point run into this problem, yet people stick with them.

"David Moyes went through it at Everton when the panic button could have been pressed.

"Roy's dealt with what the game's thrown at him up until now.

"He has a problem to deal with now, but based on what I've seen of him and what he's done since he got there, I've no doubt that he'll survive the current choppy waters.

"Where they'll be at the end of the season due to Roy Keane's management, in anybody's measurement, will be seen as being a success."