Aston Villa appoint Roy Keane as assistant manager

The Football Association of Ireland confirm Keane will continue as assistant for Ireland's national team after agreeing to join Aston Villa

Aston Villa have confirmed that Roy Keane has been appointed as their new assistant manager.

Keane, 42, fills the vacant role to work alongside Paul Lambert after Ian Culverhouse was sacked by the club following a breach of discipline.

He joined the Ireland national team setup alongside Martin O'Neill in November 2013 and it has been confirmed that Keane will combine his new role with his current position as assistant manager.

The club announced the arrival of the Republic of Ireland assistant manager on their official Twitter account on Tuesday.

Keane said he was "relishing the prospect" of working with Paul Lambert at Aston Villa.

"I am delighted to be joining Aston Villa and I am look forward to what promises to be "an exciting challenge," Keane was quoted as saying on the club's 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."

Villa manager Paul Lambert was equally satisfied after convincing Keane to join him at Villa Park.

The Scot previously revealed that Keane had been approached at the end of last season and, after long negotiations, it appears former Villla boss Martin O'Neill - now manager of Ireland - has given his blessing to the move.

Keane will combine his role as assistant for Ireland with his new position at Aston Villa (PA)

"I'm really looking forward to working with him and I'm delighted that he's here," Lambert said.

"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.

"Roy brought Sunderland up out of the Championship and into the Premier League, he gained further experience at Ipswich - where we were close rivals while I was manager at Norwich - and he's now working at international level as assistant manager with the Republic of Ireland.

"All of that experience and knowledge along with the qualities he has as a longstanding, leading professional in the game means he will bring a lot to the table. We're delighted to have him here."

Keane will officially begin his role on July 7 when the players return for pre-season training.