Roy Keane has been appointed manager of Ipswich and immediately set his sights on a quick return to the Premier League. The former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder has signed a two-year contract with the Championship side, who sacked Jim Magilton.

Keane has been out of work since quitting Sunderland last December but he will hope to have the same impact at Ipswich as he did when he took over at the Stadium of Light.

When the 37-year-old joined Sunderland in August 2006, the club were stuck in the relegation zone but eight months later they clinched the Championship title.

After missing out on the play-offs, Ipswich, also known as the Tractor Boys face an eighth season in a row in the Championship but Keane said: “I truly believe I am joining a club with the potential, ambition and infrastructure to once again be a Premier League side. The club's owner, Marcus Evans, and chief executive, Simon Clegg, impressed upon me their total focus on achieving this quest at the earliest opportunity and I can't wait to get started.”

Magilton fell victim to the Portman Road regime's top-flight aspirations yesterday, when he was sacked as manager. That followed a £12million, Evans-funded spending spree on new players following the hospitality entrepreneur's takeover late in 2007.

Evans said: “I am delighted Roy has agreed to join us and we are completely aligned in our ambitions for Ipswich.

“He has extensive contacts in the game and is a proven winner who encourages his team to play the attractive football that Ipswich fans have come to expect. I believe he is the right man to take this club where we want to be — the Premier League.”

Clegg, the former chief executive of the
British Olympic Association, shares Keane's aspirations but insists the new boss is not under any pressure to deliver instant success.

He said: “The appointment of Roy Keane further demonstrates our commitment to help achieve our aim of returning to the Premier League at the earliest possible opportunity.

“Roy has experienced promotion as Championship winners as a manager and, importantly, then kept his side in English football's top flight. I am looking forward to working with him. It will lead to what we believe and hope will be a new dawn in the era of this club. We're not going to put any timescales on how or when we are going to reach our aspirations but the entire resources of this club will be focused on delivering that aim.

“I'm not going to go into details regarding the finances of this club and how much money is available but it goes without saying, having made the statement of intent that we have, that the owner will support both the manager and myself in terms of giving us the resources we need to achieve that goal.”

Former Ipswich skipper Matt Holland, who played alongside Keane for the Republic, believes the new boss will command instant respect in the Portman Road dressing room.

He added: “Everyone must have huge respect for him, for what he's done as a player and manager. He'll have that fear factor and sometimes I think you need that.”

Keane suffered contrasting fortunes in his first season as a Premier League manager, although Sunderland did finish three points above the relegation zone.

The Black Cats struggled again this term and Keane quit after a run of just one win in six games, culminating in a 4-1 defeat by Bolton.
Holland added: “Roy was probably desperate to get back into management and Ipswich are a good club with huge ambition.”

Keane's first game is away at promotion-hopefuls Cardiff on Saturday, while the season concludes the following week at home against Coventry.