Aston Villa dismiss Paul Lambert's assistant

Ian Culverhouse, who was suspended in April pending an investigation, has been dismissed by Aston Villa. He follows in the footsteps of fellow assistant Gary Karsa, who was under investigation on charges of bullying Karsa, however, left the club earlier in the month. The move means that Paul Lambert will definitely be without his two closest assistants in the coming season and must now begin looking for replacements. 

The news is welcome, really. It puts an end to a saga that began with the shock revelation that the two assistants had been suspended, and produced a statement from Randy Lerner. It was then that rumours about the sale of Villa began to seriously pick up.

But on a more practical level, too, this is good news. After their suspension, we began hearing that training at the club had become considerably more productive, even if we didn't see the on-pitch results. Under Shay Given and Gordon Cowans, players were much happier, and this gives Lambert a chance to make those changes last.