Paul Lambert watched Aston Villa win 1-0 at Crystal Palace last night with the shadow of Roy Keane still falling over the club.
Four months into his job as assistant to Lambert Keane announced on Friday that he was stepping down from that role sparking more rumours about his relationship at Villa Park.
Christian Benteke scored the only goal of the game in the 32nd minute with Lambert tackling the burning question head on.
“If anyone wants to know about Roy, I’ll put it on your plate so you know: there’s absolutely no problem whatsoever,” the Villa boss said.
“He’s got a lot of commitments with Ireland, he’s never had a break from going away with Ireland, and never had a break from Aston Villa. So I totally respect his decision.
“Contrary to reports, there was absolutely nothing, absolutely no bust-up, no arguing, nothing like that. I thank him for his time coming to work for me.
“I spoke to him before the Burnley game, after the Burnley game, and we still have the same relationship. So I just want to put that to bed, alright?”
Benteke’s goal was his 30th in 60 appearances with the Belgian’s fitness key to Villa’s hopes of getting clear of the relegation dogfight.
“He’s missed half the year, so that’s the magnitude of it (his 30th goal in 60 league games), I’m delighted for him,” said Lambert. “It was a great goal from Christian today, the suspension never helped his case, but that was a fantastic return.”