Keane told the Sunderland Echo: "We brought him to the club because he has what we have been missing a bit, that experience and the ability to take his chances when they come along.
"You cannot buy that. I have worked with him and I know what he is all about.
"We have a lot of young players and maybe I have under-estimated the lack of experience we have got.
"That might come into the equation when we buy players in January. We have not been street-wise enough and Andrew will bring that to the side.
"It is not about just what he adds in terms of his quality, it is what he can give to Kenwyne Jones and Michael Chopra in terms of his experience as well.
"They will benefit from playing with him in games and, more importantly, in training."