Lambert laughs off Keane’s quit promise

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has played down his assistant Roy Keane’s promise he would quit the club to devote himself to his international duties if Ireland lost three games in a row.

“I think that’s been blown well out of proportion,” he said. “I don’t see Ireland losing three games anyway, so I don’t think I need to worry about that. Ireland have just taken a point from the world champions so, as I said, I don’t see them losing three in a row. It made me laugh when I saw what some people were saying about his comments. There’s no problem, none whatsoever.”

Keane made the remark in interviews promoting his new autobiography, The Second Half. And while Lambert admitted he has yet to read the book, he revealed he had already enjoyed conversations with Keane about its content.