Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has quashed rumours that manager Roy Keane is stalling on signing a new contract.

Quinn, 42, confirmed he had been in talks with Keane's solicitor but admitted there were other more pressing concerns on the agenda.

"I told Roy I had more important things on right now like the structure of the club," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"I had tough decisions to make for the club, they've slotted into place and now talks are going the right way."

Keane has less than a year left on his current three-year deal which he signed when he was appointed as manager in August 2006.

And Quinn admitted he has been working hard to tailor a deal for his former Republic of Ireland team-mate that will suit both Keane and the club.

"We're trying to get everything structurally correct so Roy feels he can walk in every day and is confident and happy with the way we're going," he said.

"I think Roy has no issue with the playing side, he's had the support he wants and it was continued support.

"Rather than go from window to window and meet up with Roy and say - 'We can do this, we can do that' - rather than the uncertainty of that I wanted to offer a contract to Roy where we'll know exactly what we're doing for the next five windows.

"He'll know exactly the parameters he can work in, he'll know what we're all trying to achieve, he'll know in terms of the turnover if the crowd are bursting at the seams what it can mean and what it'll lead to.

"He's had such a lot to do in a young managerial career and I wanted him to see a little bit more of the business side of it too and I think he respects that.

"It's about him knowing where in the next two and a half years are going and not from window-to-window."

It's about him knowing where in the next two and a half years are going and not from window-to-window Niall Quinn

Quinn also defended the club's ticket prices, stating the increased investment in players this season as the need for such a system.

Big name signings in the summer included defender Anton Ferdinand [West Ham United] and midfielders Steed Malbranque [Tottenham] and El Hadji Diouf [Bolton] and Quinn conceded ticket revenue was essential to balance the books.

"We've put money into buying players and we're trying to keep every aspect of it going in the right way," he said.

"We did inherit a �40m debt, that's a lot of interest and a lot of repayments and we're trying to be as fair as possible.

"We've tweaked season tickets over the last few years but we'd like to think it's been backed up by us more than doing our bit at this end in terms of injecting cash into the club to buy players.

"So it's about finding the right balance."