Roy Keane: No regrets leaving Villa

Roy Keane insists he has no regrets about his brief spell as Aston Villa assistant boss – but admits the No 2 role left him frustrated. 

Speaking for the first time about quitting relegation-threatened Villa after just 12 Premier League games in November, Ireland manager Martin O’Neill’s sidekick still believes he was right to accept Paul Lambert’s offer to double-job in July.

Keane stunned the Villa hierarchy by walking out with the team just two points above the relegation zone, 10 weeks without a Premier League win and 24 hours before a basement battle at Burnley.

His exit was swiftly followed by rumours of training ground bust-ups with some of the club’s senior players and a bizarre incident where Keane turned up at the front gates of Tom Cleverley’s house allegedly seeking to confront the midfielder about the leaks emerging from the dressing-room. However, Keane bears no grudge towards his former club, insisting they are certain to avoid the drop under new boss Tim Sherwood.

“I have no regrets,” said the former Sunderland and Ipswich Town manager.

“There was a little bit of frustration having been a manager going in as number two at club level. It was small bit frustrating. You have to try something but the two jobs were too much. I had the commitment to Martin and the FAI, so I felt it (Villa) was holding me back.

“But I enjoyed working with Paul Lambert at Villa. I spoke to him last week for a chat. He’s not daft; when you lose games you are under pressure.

“Villa is a brilliant club and they’ll stay up this year. They definitely will, no problem there.”