Last week's victory over Aston Villa – the Black Cats' first away win of the season, has given everyone connected with the club a lift.

And a bumper crowd is expected at the Stadium of Light this weekend for the visit of West Ham United.

But Keane has warned his players that a tough match lies ahead and there must be no slacking off.

He said: "I think if any club has let their fans down over the years, then it's Sunderland.

"And we have got to make sure that we don't let them down this weekend.

"People might say West Ham are mid-table and safe and that will be to our advantage, but I totally disagree with that.

"They come in off the back of a couple of good results, and one of the great things about the Premier League is that clubs are always competitive.

"West Ham will have players competing for their places, their manager will want to continue their good run and there will be all sorts of different reasons why they will be determined to get a win at our place this weekend.

"I've never known an easy game since I've been manager.

"And one of the great things about this league in particular is that you have to earn everything you get.

"And that's what I'm expecting of my players this weekend. They will have to fight to earn the right to win the game."

Keane is delighted that fans are turning up in such numbers, with more than 43,000 tickets sold by the end of yesterday.

He said: "The fans are great. They were fantastic at Aston Villa last week, turning up in their thousands when we hadn't won away from home for so long.

"But with our fans, I think they would have turned up from now until kingdom come because no one wanted to miss that win.

"They're turning up again this weekend hoping to see another win, and it is vital that we do our best not to let them down.

"I have to say though that the players have looked very sharp in training this week, and I know that they are looking forward to this game."