Coyle hails Keane for double

Owen Coyle was not the least bit surprised by Roy Keane’s return to football as, first, assistant to Martin O’Neill with Ireland and now number two to Paul Lambert at Aston Villa.

Glasgow-born Coyle, the former Burnley, Bolton and Wigan manager, who was capped once for Ireland, revealed how social encounters with Keane at a concert and a Celtic match convinced him that the Corkman was itching to get back into the game

“I’ve been with Roy a couple of times in the last year,” said Coyle. “Himself and his wife and myself and my wife met at the Deacon Blue concert in Manchester. [Vocalist/guitarist] Ricky Ross is a pal of mine and Roy knows him well, so we were guests upstairs. And we sat for, it must have been, over an hour before the concert. I’ve got a lot of time for him, he’s always relaxed in my company, we get on really well and chat away. And then we attended the Celtic-Shakhtar Karagandy Champions League qualifier and, again, had a great laugh and a good chat before watching the game together.