The Irishman was less than happy with last weekend's performance in the 2-0 defeat at Bolton which came just seven days after they secured their Premier League status with a 3-2 derby win over Middlesbrough.

In the immediate aftermath of the game, Keane revealed he would be moving players on as early as this week, and was as good as his word by telling Andy Cole, Stanislav Varga, Ian Harte and Stephen Wright their contracts would not be renewed, and making clear that others would follow.

Those players who survive the cull and those who arrive in what promises to be another concerted spending spree will have to buy into Keane's vision for the future if they are to make the most of their chance at the Stadium of Light.

Nosworthy said: "He sets a very high standard and there is no slacking, and that can only be a good thing.

"That's only going to make you perform better, and if you can't deal with that, things change.

"As a team we know that, we are still learning. This season, we have got away with it by winning crucial games.

"But for next season, we have to start well and continue that right through."

Before that, Keane will expect a major response from his players as they bring down the curtain on an eventful season with a sell-out home clash with Arsenal on Sunday.

Few visiting sides could present the Black Cats with a tougher test of their top-flight credentials, but having played his part as they pushed the Gunners all the way in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in October, Nosworthy is determined to make an impact once again.

He said: "It has got to be 110% effort, go out there with all guns blazing.

"There is nothing to fear, we just have to play football and basically run ourselves into the ground.

"It is the last game of the season and there would be no better feeling than winning and knowing you played pretty well and have given the fans something to shout about."

A solid display against Arsene Wenger's men would go some of the way towards repairing the damage of Sunderland's surrender at the Reebok Stadium.

Looking from the outside, the defeat by a Bolton side scrapping for their own top-flight future may not have come as a surprise, with survival for the Wearsiders secured the previous week.

However, that view cuts no ice with Keane, who made his feelings abundantly clear at half-time.

Nosworthy said: "That was to be expected. When you perform like that, you know only one thing is going to happen, and it happened."

Despite his satisfaction at consolidating in the top flight, Keane is unhappy that his side has lost 22 of their 37 league games to date this season, and insists that will not be allowed to continue next time around.

He said: "We need to do better next year as a team to be able to grind out results without playing particularly well.

"[Aston Villa boss] Martin O'Neill made the same point a few weeks ago about his own team, that the really good teams even on their bad days grind out results, and we have not been able to do that.

"If we had been able to do that, trust me, we would have been far higher up the table.

"The amount of games we have lost just won't be tolerated next season."