'Get Off Barton's Back!' Says MACKEM Boss!

So, he was not one to shudder when Joey Barton tried to rearrange Dickson Etuhu 'Wedding Tackle' on Saturday in our own North-East derby.

Far from it! The Sunderland boss says that football is in danger of going soft.

Roy Keane boss: "I'm not one for jumping up and down on the sidelines when I see a tackle. It was high but he was going to win the ball.

"The incident has been exaggerated. It's not as though Dickson needed treatment — he wasn't carried off.

"The lad Barton has apologised and, as far as I'm concerned, it's over with, we move on.

"We seem to be losing that side of it, but you have to tackle, the ball is there to be won and it's an important part of the game.'