Roy Keane returned back to the Premier league after taking on the assistant manager’s role at Aston Villa. This is quite a surprise given that he was manager of Sunderland only a few years ago. However, disappointments in the managerial career over the last few years have forced him to go back to square one. Keane has been a major influence at Aston Villa since coming according to manager Paul Lambert. He has also leapt to the defence of the former Irish midfielder by saying that the media criticise him for his temper, but they do not see him from the near.

Lambert and Aston Villa are preparing for tough season ahead. The club has allowed some key players like Marc Albrighton to leave on a free transfer, while the likes of Fabian Delph and Gabriel Agbonlahor could also leave in this transfer window. Since they have just 12 months left on their contracts, speculation has been immense about their futures. For the moment, Lambert is concentrating only on the pre-season. He says that having a top-class player like Keane as part of the coaching setup helps him a lot, while he also trusts the former Manchester United midfielder completely.

Keane is also the assistant to Gordon Strachan for the Republic of Ireland national team.

“I can really trust him. He is a really good football person – a top man. He has been great. People shouldn’t get caught up with Roy Keane being this aggressive person. With the career he has had as a footballer – and people forget he had a lot of success as a football manager – what he says is really positive, especially to the young players. If they don’t take a leaf out of his book then there is something wrong. If they don’t take in some of the things he says, I think there would be something wrong for them as an individual,” said Lambert.