Keane appointed as Villa assistant

Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Roy Keane as assistant manager to Paul Lambert.

Keane – a former manager at Sunderland and Ipswich Town – has not been involved in domestic coaching since his departure from Portman Road in 2011.

The 42-year-old, who held informal talks over the manager’s job at Scottish champions Celtic in May, was appointed as assistant to Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill last November and will continue in that role.

“I am delighted to be joining Aston Villa and I look forward to what promises to be an exciting challenge,” Keane told Villa’s official website.

“I am grateful to both Villa and the Football Association of Ireland for making this happen and I would like also to thank Martin O’Neill.

“I am relishing the prospect of linking up with Paul Lambert and combining both roles to the full advantage of both Villa and Ireland”.

Former Manchester United midfielder Keane will begin his new role when pre-season training starts in six days’ time.

And Villa manager Lambert is pleased to have a coach of Keane’s experience join his staff.

“Roy has a great knowledge of football, on the coaching side as well, and he’ll be a great asset and a big help to everybody here at Aston Villa Football Club,” Lambert said.

“I’m really looking forward to working with him and I’m delighted that he’s here.

“As a player, he was one of the most accomplished in the history of the Barclays Premier League and he’s brought that experience gained over many years into his career in coaching and management. The players will love working with him.”

Keane succeeds Ian Culverhouse, who left Villa in May following an internal investigation.