A little under two weeks after Martin O'Neill was announced as Nottingham Forest's new manager, the Championship club have this afternoon confirmed the appointment of Roy Keane as his assistant.
Rekindling a pairing that the two former Forest players carried out with the Republic of Ireland, Forest conveyed their "delight" that Keane had been confirmed in the role alongside O'Neill.
🙌 Keane is back!#NFFC are delighted to confirm that former Red Roy Keane has returned to the club as assistant manager.https://t.co/hPlwR6FOdf
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 28, 2019
Curiously selective in their demonstration of Keane's previous achievements, the club's official statement charted a number of incidents from his illustrious playing career; beginning with Brian Clough's decision to sign the Cork native in 1990, and what Keane would go on to do as Manchester United over the following years.
Detailing Keane's relatively limited managerial experience, Forest highlighted the Irishman's successful opening season with Sunderland in which the club were promoted to the Premier League. Included also was Ipswich Town's run to the League Cup semi-final under Keane, where a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal ended their hopes of reaching Wembley.
Preceding the spell Roy Keane spent working alongside Martin O'Neill with the Republic of Ireland, what amounted to a five-year spell at the helm was readily reduced to include only the bare essentials.
In a remarkably similar style to the statement that greeted O'Neill's appointment, Keane's involvement with Ireland went no further than qualification for the 2016 European Championships.
"The Irish made it to the Round of 16 at the tournament qualifying from a group that included Italy and Belgium," the final indicator of what Keane has been doing since initially leaving Forest in 1993.
Sitting four-points shy of the play-off places in 9th, Roy Keane's first game back alongside Martin O'Neill will come on Saturday when Forest visit St. Andrews to take on Birmingham City. The duo's first game together at the City Ground will come the following week against Brentford.
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