Stoke City have announced the appointment of Paul Lambert as their new manager following Mark Hughes' sacking.
A club statement read:
"STOKE CITY are delighted to confirm the appointment of Paul Lambert as the Club’s new manager. The 48-year-old has signed a two-and-half-year contract and will officially take charge at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday when he will also meet the media. When the Club made a managerial change nine days ago we stated that we were looking to make an appointment as soon as possible, particularly given our position in the league and the over-riding priority being retaining our place in the Premier League. The Club reviewed a number of people against the criteria set and met with a small number of parties who had expressed an interest in the job. Peter Coates said: “Paul greatly impressed us with his knowledge of our squad and had a clear plan of how he would improve our results. “He’s a man who backed himself as a player, none more so than when he turned down contract offers in Scotland to go on trial in the German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund, and it’s obvious he adopts the same approach as a manager.” John Coates added: “Paul has been successful in management at clubs with a strong and stable background and with local ownership – the kind of foundation we are able to give to our managers. “We were determined to appoint someone with Premier League experience or an extensive knowledge of English football. We look forward to working with Paul and supporting him to help achieve our goals.” Lambert launched his managerial career north of the border with Livingston before joining Wycombe Wanderers in 2006. After a spell with Colchester he recorded back-to-back promotions with Norwich to the Premier League. However, arguably his greatest managerial achievement was keeping Aston Villa in the Premier League against all expectations in difficult circumstances. He has subsequently worked for Blackburn and more recently Wolves. As a player, Lambert hit the heights of European football with Dortmund with whom he won the Champions League in 1997. A midfielder, he also served Celtic with distinction, helping them win four Scottish titles, and was capped 40 times by his country. Lambert will watch from the stands at Old Trafford tonight as the Potters face Manchester United with Eddie Niedzwiecki taking charge of team affairs, assisted by Kevin Russell and Andy Quy."