Former Leeds United coach Robbie Keane has been appointed by Maccabi Tel Aviv’s as the club's new head coach. The job is Keane’s first permanent, full-time head coach role and he joins the Israeli Premier League club on a two-year deal.
The Irishman will be tasked with ending Maccabi’s three-year title drought by building on their third-place finish last time around and progressing in the Europa Conference League. Keane spent the back end of last season at Elland Road after being hired as a first-team coach, alongside Karl Robinson, to provide short-term boss Sam Allardyce with a helping hand during the last four games of the campaign.
Unfortunately, despite being well received at Elland Road and Thorp Arch, he couldn’t help Leeds retain their Premier League status and he was subsequently allowed to leave the club at the end of the season. He hasn’t been out of work too long, though and he’ll be looking forward to taking the lead role in Tel Aviv.
"I am happy to take on this challenge at Maccabi,” Keane told the club’s official website. “My team and I are already looking forward to starting work and we are confident in our ability to do what is necessary to prepare the team for the upcoming season."
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Club owner Mitch Goldhar added: "Robbie brings with him the mentality, character, energy and focus of a winner, qualities that he demonstrated everywhere he played. These characteristics combined with the ambitions to succeed as a coach are in line with our goals at Maccabi.”
Keane has acquired some managerial experience since opting to hang up his boots, having taken on a player-manager role at Indian Super League outfit ATK. However, that stint lasted just three games after taking the reins temporarily from Teddy Sheringham.
Since then he has worked for the Republic of Ireland and Middlesbrough in assistant positions before landing at Elland Road at the start of May.
