Nottingham Forest have confirmed the appointment of Martin O'Neill as the club's new manager.
O'Neill, a two-time winner of the European Cup under Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980, replaces Aitor Karanka who left Forest last week after falling out with key figures in the club's hierarchy.
The 66-year-old left the Republic of Ireland job a few months ago under a cloud of criticism, but is believed to have convinced Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis that he is capable of taking the club back to the Premier League for the first time since 1999.
Forest had long held hopes that their former midfield star, who made 371 appearances for the club, would one day return as a manager.
The Northern Irishman becomes Forest's 11th manager since June 2011 but, despite Karanka's acrimonious exit, the club are still in a strong postition in the Championship, currently lying in ninth, just four positions off the play-off places.
The club are convinced that O'Neill's successes at Aston Villa, where he guided the side to three successive sixth-placed finishes in the Premier League, will outweigh more recent struggles with Sunderland and Ireland.
