Walsall appoint former Derby County defender Richard Keogh as assistant coach | OneFootball

Walsall have appointed former Derby County defender Richard Keogh as assistant coach. Head coach Lee Grant was his team-mate at Pride Park between 2013 and 2017.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, Keogh moved into coaching after retiring in 2024, serving as assistant at Blackpool and, most recently, Barnsley in League One. Last season he worked alongside head coach Conor Hourihane at Oakwell.

Darren Byfield left his role as first-team coach in May after a spell as interim manager, while former assistant Terry Connor also departed. Ryan Simmonds will continue with the senior group as PDP coach after stepping up under Byfield.

Across a 20-year playing career, Keogh is most closely associated with Derby, scoring 12 goals across eight seasons. He also represented Bristol City, Carlisle United, Coventry City, MK Dons, Huddersfield Town and Blackpool, among others.

He had a short stint at Ipswich Town in 2022-23 when Grant was on Kieran McKenna’s staff. The centre-back made 16 appearances in all competitions as the Tractor Boys won automatic promotion from League One.

Keogh won 26 caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring his only international goal in a 4-0 victory over Georgia in June 2013. He featured in both of Ireland’s play-off matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina, then started their final two games, a 1-0 win over Italy and a 2-1 defeat to hosts and eventual runners-up France.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com