Paul Lambert: Wolves name ex-Aston Villa, Norwich and Blackburn boss as head coach

Paul Lambert was sacked by Wolves' neighbours Aston Villa in February 2015

Championship club Wolves have appointed former Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert as their new head coach.

The 47-year-old Glaswegian is the second managerial appointment made by Chinese owners Fosun International since their takeover of Wolves in July.

He succeeds Walter Zenga, who was sacked after 14 league games and 87 days in charge at Molineux.

Lambert has also managed Livingston, Wycombe, Colchester, Norwich, where he won two promotions, and Blackburn.

He will be joined at Molineux by former Limerick boss and Aston Villa development squad coach Stuart Taylor, 41, who will become first-team coach alongside existing first-team coach Rob Edwards.

Wolves have not revealed the length of Lambert's contract, but director Jeff Shi told the club website he hoped the former Scotland midfielder would be at the club for the long term.

"Myself and Kevin Thelwell [sporting director] have spent many hours with Paul during the lengthy interview process, and have been very impressed with Paul's thoughts on football and his vision for Wolves," said Shi.

"Ourselves and Paul share the same vision and the same mission, to achieve promotion from the Championship as soon as possible, and then aim for a higher goal in the Premier League.

"That mission never changes, and we are doing everything possible to realise it."

Lambert took Norwich from League One to the Premier League in the space of two seasons, before struggling to make an impact under financial constraints at Villa.

He finished 15th in his first two full seasons and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup in 2013, when Villa were beaten by League Two side Bradford City.

Lambert joined Blackburn in November 2015 and Rovers won 10 of his 31 league games in charge to avoid relegation from the Championship.

But he activated a clause in his contract to leave after their final game of the season - and has since been awaiting a chance to return to management.

Analysis

Mike Taylor, BBC WM

Lambert's appointment has been expected for several days, after he quickly emerged as one of the leading contenders under consideration.

It can be convincingly argued that his struggles at Aston Villa and Blackburn were made worse by noises off the field at both clubs, and Wolves will be hopeful that his great success at Norwich is his most relevant experience.

The size of his task was made all too obvious by Wolves' lamentable first-half performance against Derby on Saturday - the club's new owners will be expectant, but must also appreciate that a strong promotion challenge this season will be difficult from the current position.