Roy Keane will not thrash out Sunderland's summer spending plans until Premier League safety is secured, despite worrying his chief executive.The Black Cats have given their survival hopes a major boost in the last week with successive victories over Aston Villa and Fulham, their first in the top flight since December 2001.

A repeat at struggling Fulham - they have not won three Premier League games on the trot since December 2000 - would all but end their fears of being dragged into the scrap at the foot of the table.

Keane made major headlines when he suggested he would be asking chairman Niall Quinn and his Drumaville consortium for £50million on top of the £44million he has already spent with which to strengthen his squad this summer.

However, while Keane remains hugely ambitious for the future, he is not even considering the way ahead until he has dealt with the present.

Asked about his comments at a charity dinner in Ireland earlier this week, he said with a smile: "Peter Walker (Sunderland chiec executive) has gone missing. He is the one who is worried. He has gone AWOL.

"I spoke to the media constantly when I was over there doing the Guide Dogs thing and they will pick one or two bits and make headlines out of it.

"But I also made it clear, listen, we have got some hard work ahead. The priority for us is to make sure we are in the Premier League and we will sit down in the summer, like every manager will be doing.

"The summer is an important time at any club, like ourselves last year.

"We want to make sure first and foremost we are in the Premier League, and then try to move on to the next level.

"But I am not looking to get ahead of myself, I am well aware there is hard work to do this season."

That said, Keane's vision for the Wearside club remains unchanged as he approaches the end of his second season at the helm.

He is convinced there are better times ahead and is determined once their status has been assured, to bring in the big signings the fans crave and fulfil the dream he bought into when Quinn persuaded him to launch his managerial career at the Stadium of Light.

He said: "Of course, otherwise what is the point of being here? You have got to believe you can go on to bigger and better things.

"That's what the fans demand, that was part of my original discussions with Niall and the board, that it has got to be all or nothing, let's not do things half-heartedly.

"Again, there have been no disappointments for me in that aspect of it.

"I have made lots of changes, particularly with the staff and brought in lots of players, so I have had great support - I have been very, very lucky."

Drumaville's spending power has largely erased memories of the financial morass into which the club was plunged as it slipped out of the top flight in 2003.

Having emerged from those difficulties, the need to balance the books has not been forgotten, although Keane acknowledged that his mission to recruit top-class players has implications for the club's wage structure.

He added: "We are well aware of that, and you have to compete. But then again, there are teams out there who are doing remarkably well - the Blackburn's of this world - and I am not necessarily sure they are paying silly wages.

"But it is getting the balance right. If you can bring in a player and he is going to lift your club and be a big player for you, then you pay for what you get, there is no getting away from it."

Keane will be without midfielder Dwight Yorke, who damaged a knee in training, at Craven Cottage, but otherwise has no fresh injury concerns.

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