Former Aston Villa and Crawley Town boss John Gregory appointed manager of Indian club Chennaiyin

John Gregory during his Crawley Town days.
Picture by Jon Rigby — John Gregory during his Crawley Town days. Picture by Jon Rigby

The former Aston Villa, QPR and Derby County supremo's last job was in charge of Crawley.

He replaced Richie Barker and was in charge for 12 months when they were in League 1 from December 2013 to December 2014.

Gregory stepped down to have heart surgery and Dean Saunders took charge on a caretaker basis until the end of the season when they were relegated.

The former Brighton player has previously managed overseas in Israel and Kazakhstan.

Gregory, 63, thanked the club's owners for giving him the opportunity.

He told Chennaiyin's website: "I am very excited to have joined Chennaiyin FC and would like to thank the club owners for believing in me and giving me this wonderful opportunity.

"Chennaiyin has been one of the most consistent teams in the ISL so far and I want to continue the great work done by Marco Materazzi in the first three seasons.

"I am determined to help the club win the ISL trophy back for the people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu."