Aston Villa appoint Ray Wilkins as assistant manager

Starting at Chelsea, Wilkins represented 11 clubs in his 24-year playing career, winning 84 caps for England

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has brought in former England midfielder Ray Wilkins as his assistant.

The 58-year-old Londoner, who has had a succession of jobs in football - both in coaching and in the media - since his playing career ended in 1997, started last season as coach of Jordan.

He has also managed one of his former sides - Queens Park Rangers.

But he has never previously worked with 46-year-old Sherwood, who replaced Paul Lambert at Villa Park in February.

"Tim is similar to me in that he wants to win and is pretty bubbly. As soon as I spoke to him it seemed to click," the former Chelsea and Manchester United player told Sky Sports.

"I've been fortunate over my career to be involved with lots of managers of a very high level. Hopefully, I can give the lads at Villa that experience.

"Tim has just now confirmed that I'll be going on board. I'm absolutely thrilled to be back involved. There's only one place to be - the Premier League is the place to go in."

Kevin MacDonald, who was brought back to Villa by Sherwood in February, will continue to be part of the coaching set-up "with a greater responsibility for developing homegrown talent".

FA Cup finalists Villa finished 17th in the Premier League last season, just three points clear of the drop zone, after winning seven of their 16 Premier League games following Sherwood's appointment.

"They've got a good squad, but it can work a lot better and harder," Wilkins added. "They showed at the end of last season what they can achieve. They should be a Top-10 Premier League team, simple as that."