West Brom 1-0 Aston Villa, by Simon Williams at The Hawthorns

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert again dismissed rumours of any dressing room bust-ups on Saturday following Roy Keane’s departure last month.

Speaking after his side’s 1-0 away defeat at the hands of local rivals West Bromwich Albion, Lambert (pictured) rubbished reports that claimed Keane had clashed with, amongst others, Gabriel Agbonlahor during his time as Villa assistant manager.

“I have it on record as saying there were no issues whatsoever,” said Lambert, after claims Keane had created a “poisonous” atmosphere within the club.

“I spoke to Roy this morning and last night and had a chat. The guy is run off his feet with Irish commitments so I respected that.

“For me it was absolute nonsense in what’s been written about him. I find it bizarre. The guy was great for me and great for everyone at the football club.”

Keane had citied the pressures of juggling his role as assistant to Martin O’Neill for the Irish national side with his role at Villa as the reason for his shock departure after less than five months as Lambert’s No 2.

“He’s got a lot of commitments with the Irish national team and I’ve got nothing but thanks for Roy for coming in,” added Lambert.

“There wasn’t even any bad words or anything — that’s the disappointing thing.

“The ‘poisonous’ headline is shocking — to label it that is shocking.”

The Villans went into their game against West Brom on the back of a five-match unbeaten run, winning consecutive games after three successive draws.

But they had never gone six league matches without defeat under Lambert and faced an uphill battle following the dismissal of former Baggies loanee Kieran Richardson after 21 minutes for a reckless tackle on Stephane Sessegnon.

And the home side made their man advantage count midway through the second-half when former Villa player, and Birmingham City fan, Craig Gardner scrambled the ball home, leaving Albion to celebrate their first victory since November 1.