Martin O'Neil wants Roy Keane to remain Ireland assistant
Ireland boss Martin O'Neill today insisted he wants Roy Keane to stay as his assistant as he put talk of his planned Villa switch on hold.
The former claret and blues manager remained tight-lipped on Keane's link to his old club and wants to forget the speculation until after Ireland's games.
Keane is expected to become Lambert's No.2 once Ireland return from America, where they are playing friendlies against Costa Rica and Portugal.
This week Keane quit his role as a pundit for ITV's World Cup coverage, seen as a statement of intent over a move to Villa.
But the ex-Manchester United midfielder should be able to continue his role with Ireland should he join Villa and O'Neill is keen to keep him.
"Naturally, I'm very pleased and delighted that he has done so (temporarily left ITV)," said the ex-Villa manager.
"Maybe we might just get on with things now. It's obviously good news for us, for everyone concerned I think. The players in particular are delighted and so are the rest of us.
"As I said to you before, he has enjoyed it here immensely. That obviously plays a part in his thinking.
"Everything now this minute is on the back burner in terms of all speculation and all that type of stuff. I don't really want to continue on with this until we come back from the United States."
Lambert and Keane have a long-standing relationship and the 42-year-old is seen as the ideal man to breath fresh life into a struggling squad.
The Scot is looking for a new assistant after Ian Culverhouse was sacked last month – along with head of football operations Gary Karsa – for unspecified disciplinary issues.
