Former Aston Villa boss Brian Little says it's crucial manager Paul Lambert finds his right No2.
Manchester United legend Roy Keane is weighing up an offer from Villa.
Little believes Lambert's choice of No.2 is crucial as he plots next season against a backdrop of uncertainty at the up-for-sale club.
"I think it's massively important to have the right people around you," said Little to the Birmingham Mail.
"If you look at clubs now, that's what happens. People don't go into clubs on their own, they go in with a group of people who have to function and work together.
"I think he will be disappointed that he has lost two people that he's worked with for years.
"Prior to his last year, he's worked with these people for the first year at Villa, three years at Norwich and even before that.
"For that time everybody was happy with them, so it will be a big blow for him to have lost them.
"I know he'll have learned a lot over the two years so his appointment of people around him is going to be massively important."
