Boss Roy Keane has revealed that he will be looking to add an assistant manager to his coaching staff during the close season. Keane is seeking to shake-up his backroom with specialist skills coach Steve Foley’s contract not being renewed.

Keane said: “I’ll be looking to bring in an assistant manager over the next few months and I’ve got one or two people in mind for that, so changes will be made in the backroom staff.”

Earlier in the season, the Blues boss was close to appointing Peter Taylor to his coaching ranks, although not as an assistant manager. Taylor was interested in a role as Keane's deputy but not one working alongside the club's other coaches. The former England boss is now manager at Bradford City and so is firmly out of the running.

The Town manager says he will be keeping U18 coach Chris Kiwomya at the club, while he will speak to Ian McParland, who he brought to the club earlier in the season, about his future next week. The former Notts County boss underwent a double hip operation yesterday and Keane will visit him next week.

Specialist skills coach Steve Foley will be leaving the club with Keane grateful for his work during his time at the club: “We won’t be renewing Steve’s contract.

"It was a tough decision because Steve’s a good man and has been very good to me since I came in, even at the start of last season and he’s done a good job with the reserves, but there are areas of the staff I need to look at and try and make changes there. But he’s a very good man and a football man.”

Photo: Action Images

Johnny_Boy added 13:07 - Apr 30 Yes Yorkshire, most people have to start somewhere.... like lower down the league perhaps?
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naa added 13:07 - Apr 30 ashley: I really didn't want to rise to this but sorry that was guff. To blame the horrendous start on Magilton's squad is ridiculous - this was a squad apparently full of wasters managed by a rubbish manager (who got sacked) that was not far short of the play-offs the previous year. Keane himself made several comments that the squad was decent and only needed a couple of changes. Then he tried to change everything at the same time, often with poor replacements he'd bought. The strides we've made this season have been judged against his own terrible start. We've gone backwards from last year in both points and footballing style. And let's not forget that we weren't really that good last season, so to go massively backwards from that was impressive. Only time will tell if RK proves to be any good or not, and maybe he just misjudged what was needed at the start but to claim he's done anything like a good job this season is a joke. As for coaches, the issue I think they may be is that RK is a very confident person and I can't see him taking on an experienced head who he will have to listen to. So maybe Butt is someone he may be thinking of. Personally I think we need a strong-willed experienced person.

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sonian_blue added 13:15 - Apr 30 Agree AshleyLewis. Good job someone on here makes some sense.
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muhrensleftfoot added 13:23 - Apr 30 If I was getting the job as RK's asssistant manager, I'd only be renting my house down here, because the long term job prospects are not very good. If we're not around the top 6 places by October, methinks Marcus will sack him and all his cronies
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Blueknight85 added 13:30 - Apr 30 Who is this Blueknights? that is a scandalous name! Nicky butt is probably a good bet and of course he has coaching experience..! he has been coached for 30ish years.... and will have been coaching courses etc his whole career It didn't stop us appointing Magilton manager it didnt stop sunderland appointing Keane manager... tony mowbray/mark venus had "no experience" when they started...Ally mcoist at Rangers was a quiz show captain.. the list is endless because no one had "experience" when they started.

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naa added 13:53 - Apr 30 blueknight: I think the point is do we feel we need an experienced head or not. We already have an inexperienced manager at the helm so maybe we need some experience to back him up. Obviously it could work out with an inexperienced guy - the players may take to him - but it's about what is best in our current situation. What, exactly, does RK want from his new assistant that he can't get from his current set of coaches?

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jbb added 14:01 - Apr 30 I would seriously question the football intelligence of anyone suggesting Nicky Butt would not be a good acquisition for the club. He started in 33 league games for the runaway champions. A holding CM (like a Centre Back) can play into their late 30's, provided they can avoid injury, as a big part of their game is reading the play. He wants a coaching position, throw in the carrot of assistant manager. There are already experienced coaches at the club, eg McParland. Whether it happens probably depends on whether the finance involved compensates for uprooting his family and moving south, and no doubt he will have plenty of other offers.

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Johnny_Boy added 14:02 - Apr 30 Blueknight85 - Ally Mcoist has been working under Walter Smith at Rangers... a man that has had over 30yrs experience coaching football. To try and compare the situation here with Keane - who let's face it - is but a mere child in mangerial terms, would probably need an old hand as his assistant.
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fatuncle added 14:03 - Apr 30 Just trying to remember who signed Norris,Mccauley & Walters can't wait to get rid of them bit by bit!
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Strider added 14:04 - Apr 30 I agree with those saying that RK should look for an experienced right hand man. ME obviously told Jim to get one in before he went after Gorman and it wouldn't surprise me if he said the same to RK. It's gotta be someone who doesn't mind being a No.2, shame Taylor is at Bradford.
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blueknights added 14:27 - Apr 30 Blueknight85 - I'm your long lost second cousin from overseas - or does that make me you're Dutch Uncle?
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brogansnose added 14:55 - Apr 30 Not too sorry to see Foley going, a coach who at one time wasnt good enough for Norwich. If i remember rightly he held the role of ' skills coach'....do i really need to expand on that. However all the best to the bloke.
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dobbie73 added 15:15 - Apr 30 Naa - come on, hardly 'massively backwards'! Didn't Jim accumulate 56 points before he went? Keano added 6 to that to finish on 62 if my memory serves me correctly. We are on 56 at the moment, so at the very worst, this season Keano hasn't progressed in terms of results compared to Jim, even if (as I believe), the squad is improving significantly. OK, hardly setting the world alight, but not the calamity that many would have us believe ....

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sheepdags added 15:21 - Apr 30 good point fatuncle - we never needed a clear out. Norris,Mccauley & Walters are probably 3 of our best players and RK inherited a strong squad that just needed a decent goal scorer to make it a promotion contender. What we got was Priskin and Martin for an outlay that should have secured that 20 goal a season man we needed.
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jbb added 15:57 - Apr 30 Not one of the players who have left, or are about to leave, would contribute to finishing in the top 2/3 in the division. How many of them were or are in demand by the top teams? Does that not tell you something? Some people need to realise JM has gone, he is not coming back, time to move on. He got a fair chance and his team wasnt good enough. I highly rate Norris, McAuley and Walters, and hope and believe all 3 will be part of a team promoted to the Premier League. Would those 3 be good enough for that division? Probably not, but I hope they get the chance.

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naa added 16:19 - Apr 30 Dobie: OK, fair enough I got carried away a bit by using the word 'massively'. But then you make the same mistake by using the word 'significantly'. I'm dubious that the squad has improved much at all - certainly not in the important areas that we all knew needed improving last year - but it most definitely has not improved 'significantly'.
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blueherts added 16:33 - Apr 30 That is good news - I have been crying out for a right hand man manager - hopefully not a Keane puppet
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dobbie73 added 16:46 - Apr 30 Naa - touche sir! Lol, OK I withdraw "significantly" ... *WINK*
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naa added 17:03 - Apr 30 Dobie: ;-)
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depressed added 17:05 - Apr 30 Butt as Keanes right hand man.....Replacing deadwood with cardboard ....Better times under Magilton.... What a fountain of knowledge some posters are.......Yawn!!
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Paddy39 added 18:01 - Apr 30 Tony Mowbray
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WickedBlue added 18:05 - Apr 30 All together children 2 + 2 = 5..........morons
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blueherts added 18:40 - Apr 30 Experience is the key with Keane - unfortunately he is so headstrong and will only want a yes man who does as he wants - We have not moved forward but maybe a shrewd coach who can motivate will move us forward !!!
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shoopdelang added 19:32 - Apr 30 Stuart Pearce! I know he's busy with the u21's, but he was manager of Man City whilst he ran the u21's, don't see why he couldn't be assistant manager for us?
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Tillz9 added 22:25 - Apr 30 Stev Foley...Specialist skills coach. Am I missing the point or should championship players looking to get into the premiership not already have some sort of specialist skills ????????????
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