Villa name MacDonald as Roy Keane's assistant managerial heir

The chair has been vacant since Roy Keane returned to Ireland, but Aston Villa finally have an assistant manager again and he's a familiar face. Kevin MacDonald will be Tim Sherwood's number-two man according to the club. You may remember MacDonald from such adventures as "I coached the Villa reserve team when they were great" and "Oh god, Martin O'Neill quit and we need someone to manage this club right now."

MacDonald spent the bulk of his playing career at Leicester City, Liverpool, and Walsall, but has been in coaching since 2003, when he became an assistant at Aston Villa. In his eight matches as caretaker manager before Gerard Houllier came aboard, MacDonald amassed a 2-3-3 record. Since leaving Aston Villa he has had a six-month stint managing League Two side Swindon Town.

It certainly can't hurt the club to have MacDonald back, as he was in charge of the reserves when players like Gabby Agbonlahor, Andi Weimann, Nathan Baker, and more were coming up. His familiarity with many of the Villa players could be a big asset in helping Tim Sherwood get settled with the club.