Roy Keane: 'I had no choice but to leave Aston Villa'

Roy Keane has taken a swipe at former club Aston Villa, claiming that the Premier League side lacked ambition during his short time as assistant manager.

The 43-year-old worked alongside Paul Lambert at Villa Park for four months earlier this season, before departing to concentrate on his Republic of Ireland duties.

Keane has now revealed his frustration at the "wrong attitude" which has crept in at the Midlands outfit, insisting that he had no choice but to step down from his position last November.

"My role with Aston Villa was certainly affecting my work with Ireland," he wrote in the updated version of his autobiography, The Second Half.

"I felt it wasn't fair. There seems to be the wrong attitude, 'We're not going to be challenging but we're probably good enough to stay up'. It's like drifting. It's a tired club, a tired brand.

"I think some of the players, even subconsciously, thought, 'We've a nice life here, we don't want you rocking the boat'. You'd be patting them on the back for putting their boots on and being on time - and half the time they weren't on time."

Keane made the headlines earlier this week for criticising the underwhelming performance of Real Madrid star Gareth Bale in Los Blancos' defeat at Juventus.