Football news - Roy Keane leaves Nottingham Forest

Keane had returned to the club where he made his name as a player in January, shortly after another ex-Forest midfielder Martin O'Neill had taken over as manager following Aitor Karanka's departure.

"Nottingham Forest can confirm that assistant manager Roy Keane has left the club," the club said in a statement.

"Roy would like to express his gratitude to the club's owner, board of directors, staff, players and manager O'Neill for the opportunity to return to The City Ground."

The 47-year-old Keane had spent five years as O'Neill's assistant with the Ireland national team before they left the roles last November having won only once in 11 games and being relegated from UEFA Nations League B.

"Working with Martin over the last few years has been a magnificent experience, one of my greatest in football both as a player and a coach and one I want to personally thank him for," Keane said.

It was suggested by Guardian writer Daniel Taylor that Keane may look to pursue his own managerial career.

Keane joined Forest in 1990 under manager Brian Clough before moving to Manchester United in 1993 where he won seven Premier League titles, the Champions League and four FA Cups in 12 trophy-laden years at Old Trafford.

He also earned 67 caps for Ireland before retiring from the game in 2006.

British media reports said that Keane, who led Sunderland back to the Premier League in 2007 and managed Ipswich Town in the Championship before becoming Ireland assistant in 2013, was looking to resurrect his career as a manager.

Forest finished ninth in the English second-tier last season. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)