Roy Keane has said that he might have expected too much from his players this season.

In the club's first season back in the Premier League, we've had to make do several key players due to injury for extended periods of time, with Dean Whitehead, Carlos Edwards and Jonny Evans missing several months of the season.

Now, with just three games left in the season and with Sunderland still not mathmatically safe, Keane has admitted that his squad might have been too small to cope with the injuries he's had thrown at him.

Keane said: "The season is maybe catching up with some of the players. Because of the size of the squad and the injuries, particularly at the start of the season, a lot of players have played a lot of games.

"We are putting a lot of demands on a lot of young players, and sometimes the body just says, 'I have had enough, I need a rest'.

"It's not great timing for us, but that's what you are up against with the bigger teams with the big squads. You understand why those clubs have 25, 26 international players because you are going to have injuries, and they can deal with it better than clubs like ourselves. That's what we are trying to aim for."