DUBLIN (AP) — Martin O’Neill says he will take over from Giovanni Trapattoni as coach of Ireland’s national team and former Manchester United captain Roy Keane will be his assistant.
The 61-year-old O’Neill returns to management eight months after he was fired by Sunderland. Keane has been a TV pundit since leaving as Ipswich manager in 2011.
Keane has had a volatile relationship with the Football Association of Ireland and walked out of the 2002 World Cup without kicking a ball.
O’Neill, a former Northern Ireland national team player, told the British broadcaster ITV on Tuesday: “I’m the bad cop and he’s the bad, bad cop. We’re excited by it, and I’m looking forward to it greatly.”
Trapattoni left in September after Ireland didn’t qualify for the World Cup.
