OUTSPOKEN Sunderland manager Roy Keane last night went on the offensive to attack what he sees as under-the-thumb footballers more concerned with helping their wives maintain shopping habits rather than football matters.

Despite spending almost £30m in the transfer market, Keane has also suffered knock backs in his attempts to strengthen his squad with high calibre players.

And, without naming names, he has pulled no punches in criticising the modern phenomena which have become widely known as WAGS - the Wives and Girlfriends.

In a brutally honest assessment ahead of tonight's Premier League trip to Birmingham, Keane has slammed hen-pecked players who assess the shops the local cities offer before deciding on their next employer.

Keane's ire is directed at the higher-earners within the game. His former Manchester United team-mate David Beckham has been a constant target for critics who claim that his other half, Victoria, runs his life and was the driving force behind his switch to Los Angeles Galaxy.

But the clearly incensed Sunderland boss feels the WAGS influence continues to grow and it has had an impact on his own recruitment drive this summer.

"We have had a player this summer who didn't even ring us back because his wife wanted to move to London. He didn't even have the courtesy to pick the phone up - and shopping was mentioned," said Keane.

"It might astonish many people but it is true. I can understand the attraction of people wanting to go to London if you are talking about Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham maybe but there are players going to clubs in London simply because it is London.

"To me that is wrong. It is not a football move it is a lifestyle move, and those are the type of people you don't want at your club anyway so it is not a problem, but it is a fact. To me that player is weak because his wife runs his life.

"That happens at the big clubs too. I could name three or four big players now and clearly their wives and girlfriends are running their lives because they are doing these photo-shoots and all that kind of stuff.

"They say they are not comfortable doing it - well don't do it. Obviously it is their partners doing it and they are being dragged along. And these so called big stars are people we are supposed to be looking up to. Well, they are weak. They are soft."

Given how Kevin Keegan once famously persuaded Rob Lee to move to Newcastle by informing him Tyneside was closer to London than Middlesbrough, Keane even quipped he might give that a go before the transfer window closes on August 31.

But, on a more serious note, the 35-year-old used his own playing experiences to highlight the options players should consider before making a final decision on where they should move to.

Keane once had the option of turning his back on Old Trafford and moving to either AC Milan or Juventus. "People spoke to me about Turin and said it is this and that, ooh Milan would be nicer. But I replied I am not going there for the bloody shops, I am going because it is Juventus," he said.

"I don't want to go to bloody Milan. It is a footballing decision. If there is nothing to do then find something to do because people who are bored are boring.

He added: "I find it a bit of a surprise that geography seems to play such a big part. Or that players let their wives decide. I think it is weak. Weak."

Keane looks destined to lose out to Middlesbrough in the race to sign Tottenham striker Mido, although he has confirmed he will be holding talks with Andy Cole over a possible move to the region.

A left-back remains a priority too, with Keane's former international team-mate Ian Harte now a serious possibility after cancelling his contract with Spanish outfit Levante