Boss Roy Keane says adding an assistant manager to his staff has been put on the back burner. The Blues manager announced that he was looking for a new deputy at the end of last season.

Keane told the club site: "It's not been a priority for me this summer. I've put it on the back burner for now. I spoke to one person who I felt I could have worked with and we had some good conversations, but he has ended up getting a job himself.

"I've been too busy with other things at the moment. I want to focus on trying to bring in one or two new faces to the squad and also concentrating on the players here already and getting things right for the new season."

New Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers, a close friend of Keane’s, was strongly linked with the job prior to landing his position with the Swans.

The Blues boss says the current pre-season programme is a very different to last year's: “Perhaps more by accident than design, because we ideally wanted another game or two in Holland, our preparations this time have been like chalk and cheese compared to last summer. But it’s working OK and is far better organised.

“Last year it was hectic to say the least with a new manager, new staff, new players, hours of travelling, house and school hunting and no canteen with our training ground being renovated.

“We also picked up injuries, which apart from Damien Delaney, we have managed to keep clear of this time.”

One of the planned games in Holland was against Town’s 1981 UEFA Cup final foes AZ Alkmaar, local policing concerns scuppering the fixture.

Photo: Action Images

bedsitfc added 10:13 - Jul 25 joeippy01 - you say "the average players dont want to play for him" all i can say to that is good we dont want average players. proves my point above
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blues1 added 18:25 - Jul 25 trouble is beds, all our players are average. ne1 who thinks differently is living in anuva world. the only way of getting these players 2 perform is 2 have a manager who can motivate them, & who they wanna play 4. he didnt even mix with the players at the cricket match, jst stood alone at other side of ground. not a gud way of representing itfc at such an event. but, bck 2 the subject, i dont c why we need yet anuva member of the bckroom staff, we got enuf coaches as it is, in fact, imo, 2 many. why not jst give 1 of those the title of asst manager.

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joeippy01 added 15:42 - Jul 27 but we have average players at best, grow up mate!!
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