Roy Keane has been branded a “realist” who “doesn’t sugarcoat anything” by Paul Lambert, as the former Aston Villa boss reminisced fondly on his time working with the Irishman.
Lambert spoke exclusively to FourFourTwo about a range of subjects, from marking Zinedine Zidane out of Champions League final to taking Norwich from League One to the Premier League.
But the former Borussia Dortmund, Celtic and Scotland midfielder also reflected on his spell as boss at Villa Park.
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Keane 'doesn't sugercoat things'
Keane was Lambert's assistant during the 2014/15 season, but departed after just four months to focus on his role with the Republic of Ireland national team.
Asked what Keane was like to work with, Lambert said: “Absolutely brilliant.”
“I was having a hard time at Villa at one point and Roy sent me a supportive text message out of the blue,” he continued.
“I didn’t even really know him. He invited me up for a cup of tea at his house – way before he came to Villa – and we just got on well.
“We had the same attitude to the game. I was looking for someone to help me, and he was great.
“Roy’s a realist: he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He talks total sense about football and doesn’t try to complicate things just to make himself sound clever. I respect him a lot.”
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