Of all the characters that have dominated the English game in the last two decades there are few that compare, in terms of sheer desire to win, with Roy Keane.

Not only an exceptionally talented individual, Keane became an almost suffocating presence to his opponents, and a constant resuscitating force for his teammates.

A player who had the fortune to serve under both Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson, Keane was a leader on the field with few equals.

A man who is rarely satisfied, Keane now wishes to add to his sterling onfield reputation by building a comparable stature of it.

Having taken Sunderland from the very bottom to the very top of the Championship, Keane is off and running; but to the considerable experience he has, he is now seeking to add that final touch of science in the form of the Pro Licence.

Speaking exclusively to TheFA.com, Keane revealed that it is a process he wished he had began earlier: "I started my badges maybe four or five years ago, but it's maybe something I wish I'd started before then. I think the knowledge would definitely have helped me as a player.

"What I enjoy most is working with other people, mixing with other coaches and getting new ideas, picking eachother's brains.

"It's fantastic because you can learn from so many different people, there's lads working in the ladies teams, lads in the non-league and guys at the very top.

"My mentality since I have come on these courses, and from my experiences under managers like Sir Alex and Cloughie, is that it's a simple game. The managers I played under were all very much like that. A lot of people try to complicate it but it is a simple game.

"I come on these courses with an open mind, and to be fair to The FA they are not saying 'This is the set way you do things', they are just showing different ways of dealing with all sorts of situations.

"Again, I suppose you always go back on your experiences. The ones I have from my managers are that the game is all about passing and moving, as you go along you pick up on the tactical side of things, the strategies within games and preparation."

Looking back on his first season in management, Keane was not surprised that he was able to take Sunderland into the Premier League at the first attempt, but admits it will be a much tougher test this season.

"I always hoped, you know, that's what you're in the game for - the challenges," Keane explained. "I tell you, it was certainly a challenge when I got there. But in life you will find massive challenges are always followed by even bigger ones, and next season is certainly going to be an even bigger challenge.

"That's why I took the job, you have to take challenges and usually when you get a job it's because things aren't right at a football club or within the team, and I enjoyed that opportunity.

"I know I'm fortunate in that not many people get the chance, especially in their first job, to work at a club like Sunderland. I feel very grateful for that and I'm also aware that it's down to a lot of people that we were able to get promoted. We have a very good staff, a very good dressing room of players, good backing from the people who bought the club, a Chairman who supports me and a great fanbase."

Keane is quick to repeat just how fortunate he feels in working at the Stadium of Light.

"I'm lucky: I'm very, very lucky. A lot of mangers start with different clubs, but fortunately for me I started with Sunderland.

"Sometimes people are told things when they join clubs, 'This is available' and 'There won't be intereference'. And then they get the job and it's not what they were told it would be.

"But for me, the promises that were made about the club came true. I was left alone to get on with the job and that's why it worked last season. We'll see what happens next season."

Despite seeming to be made for management in his final seasons as a player, Keane admits that it was not always necessarily the path he thought he would take upon retirement.

When asked if management was always something he wanted to do, Keane responds: "I'd have to say not necessarily. I had done my 'B' badge and I came on the 'A' badge last summer and I must admit I was undecided as to what I wanted to do.

"But when I did my 'A' badge last year I thought, 'I enjoy this'. I enjoy working with people, I enjoy trying to pass on my experience and it was a good process for me.

"Some people might come on the courses and it might tell them that coaching is not for them. But you can only learn from it, and I think the problem for players when they get to the summer is they can't be bothered. I can understand it - I was like that for many seasons when I was younger. I thought 'Oh, I'm going to take the first six weeks off',

"Fair enough the breaks are getting shorter, especially for international players. But having said that if you want something enough, like anything else in life, you have to make sacrifices.

"I hear players say, 'I haven't got the time' but you have to make the time. It's like in any walk of life, if you want to get a trade you'll find the time and you'll do it.

"The problem for a lot of players when they retire is they look at the process of getting your badges and there's an element of 'I can't be bothered', maybe.

"I can understand that, but I'd recommend to any player that, if you get a break, for the sake of a week or two in the summer, go and learn. It doesn't mean you have to become a coach or a manager, but it teaches you about the game, you get a taste for it."

Certainly the fans at Sunderland will be glad that Keane was able to sacrifice some of his summer holidays to get a taste for coaching.