Premier League: Paul Lambert appointed Stoke City manager

Paul Lambert has been appointed as Premier League club Stoke City's new manager.

According to media reports, Lambert accepted the job at the PL strugglers after productive talks over the weekend. The reports said that he has been promised a significant bonus if he guides Stoke to safety.

The former Aston Villa manager has been out of football since leaving Wolves at the end of last season but has top-flight experience while, crucially, he was also never relegated at Villa Park.
 
It ends a nine-day search for Mark Hughes's successor, with moves for Gary Rowett, Quique Sanchez Flores and Martin O'Neill all ending in frustration.

The 48-year old will be in the stands at Old Trafford for the game against Manchester United on Monday night. Stoke are in the relegation zone and a point adrift of 17th-placed Southampton.

Lambert rose to limelight achieving back-to-back promotions at Norwich City. He departed for Villa in 2012 but faced a difficult two-and-a-half years under former chairman Randy Lerner, operating on a restricted budget. Yet he never suffered relegation in that time before his dismissal in February 2015.

Since leaving Villa he has managed Blackburn Rovers and Wolves. Lambert's first game in charge will be the home game against struggling Huddersfield on Saturday.