Aston Villa's Paul Lambert: Players will love working with Roy Keane
Paul Lambert hailed his new assistant Roy Keane as a coach his players 'will love working with' as they launched their partnership today.
Lambert and Keane headed for a media scrum first to satisfy the huge interest one of the game's most controversial figures continues to generate.
After that came the planning for the pre-season programme in which Keane will now be a major figure following yesterday's confirmation of his appointment as Lambert's No.2. It's a role Keane will combine with the same job under former Villa boss Martin O'Neill in the Republic of Ireland camp but there are no fears from Lambert that he will spread himself too thin – or disrupt Villa's training camp with that famous temper.
"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," Lambert said. "I'm really looking forward to working with him and I'm delighted he's here.
"As a player, he was one of the most accomplished in the history of the 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.
"Although we never played together, we competed against one another and he's someone for whom I have a lot of time and respect. He has worked under some great managers, some of the most successful in the game, and he'll be a great help to myself as well."
Keane added: "I am delighted to be joining Aston Villa and I look forward to what promises to be an exciting challenge.
"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".
