Football
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Keane named Villa assistant manager

 Aston Villa have appointed former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane as their new assistant manager.

Keane turned down the chance to manage Celtic in favour of a move to work alongside Paul Lambert in the Premier League, and will begin work on July 7 when preseason training begins.

Sources have told ESPN FC that the appointment was agreed last month and the official announcement was delayed until all parties returned from their summer break.

Keane was in talks with Villa at the same time as he was approached by Celtic, with his decision to work as an assistant rather than return to a lead coaching role believed to have been key in his decision to remain part of the Republic of Ireland coaching set-up as Martin O'Neill's assistant.

Lambert told Villa's official website: "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.

"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 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."

As a manager, Keane earned promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland in 2007 and ensured survival the following season before a turbulent spell at Ipswich between April 2009 and January 2011.

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