The Black Cats' form on the road was one of the big concerns from last season – Sunderland picking up just nine away points, not winning until they visited Aston Villa in March and only ending victorious twice on their travels all season.

"Our away form is certainly something that we want to be better than last season," Keane told the Echo.

"Well, it has to be! It has to be. Simple as that.

"We had lots of games where we set off with the best of intentions, but it never went our way and we have to learn from those experiences.

"The Tottenham game last season was a case in point where we sent the players out and asked them to make a solid start and they were a goal down within a couple of minutes!

"The Everton game was another prime example.

"But everyone has to learn from last season – me included."

Keane feels that maybe he and his players might have been a little naive in their commitment to open, attacking football on the road.

The Irishman reflected: "Away form is important and maybe you have to be a bit more practical at times.

"It's not always about getting victories. Sometimes a draw can be a very positive result.

"A lot of teams would take a draw from most away games, happy to get a point out of a game.

"But sometimes you have to learn the hard way and that can mean losing football matches."

The manager, though, feels that the players he has added over the summer will be as big a benefit to the club on their travels as they are at the Stadium of Light.

Keane commented: "We have added some very capable and very experienced players to the side and I think that will help us a lot with our away form.

"We are talking about players who have been in the Premiership a long time, who know exactly what to expect.

"They will have a confidence about them and I think their approach to our games on the road will be very helpful.

"We gave a good account of ourselves against Liverpool (last week), but came away from the game with no points.

"Now, against Spurs, I want to see us continue to show some good form but maybe look to tighten it up a little bit and come away from the game with something to show for it."