Speculation, which proved to be completely without foundation, swept through Wearside on Friday that Keane had quit has Black Cats manager.

The former Manchester United midfielder had come under fire after four successive defeats, but was at the helm as Sunderland defeat Blackburn 2-1 at Ewood Park.

And defender Bardsley does not understand why Keane's future was brought in to question, given his achievements in the North East and popularity with the Wearsiders' squad.

He told the Northern Echo: "I'm not really sure what went on last week with the manager to be honest.

"The manager has done a great job and the lads love working with him. There's no reason why he wouldn't want to be here.

"He isn't really any different when things go badly because he's been through it all before. He knows how difficult it is when you are playing some decent stuff, and you're not getting that bit of lady luck you need to win a game.

"He's shown faith in us and I think we did him proud with the three points at Blackburn."

Sunderland had slipped into the bottom three after three league defeats on the spin, but climbed to 11th thanks to their triumph over Rovers.

And Bardsley knows that is important to take a long-term view of the season given how tight the Premier League table is.

He added: "It's a balancing act. It can be difficult not to get caught up in the pressure that's on the team when you lose four games in a row, but you have to try because things can change very quickly.

"If you win a couple of games, you can't get too carried away, if you lose a few, it's the same. A couple of results can transform things, especially when you're in a league that's as tight as this one.

"If we put two wins together against West Ham, we'll be a in strong position again in the top half of the table, even though last week we were in the bottom three and under pressure."