BIRMINGHAM (AFP) English Premier League club Birmingham City appointed former Norwich manager Peter Grant as first-team coach on Thursday. Grant will assist Birmingham manager Alex McLeish after the departure of previous coach Roy Aitken, who quit recently to work with David OLeary at United Arab Emirates outfit Al Ahli. McLeish told the clubs official website: Ive known Peter for a long time. He was an adversary of mine in my Aberdeen playing days, when he was a stalwart for Celtic. He is a competitive man who has been brought up in a winners environment due to the traditions of Celtic. He has successfully made the transition into becoming a coach and my diligence shows me he is the right man for the job. His personality is akin to that of the man we have just lost, Roy Aitken, and that will be a great asset to us. Grant, a former Celtic and Scotland midfielder, spent 12 months as Norwich manager in 2006-07 and has also been an assistant coach at West Ham, West Bromwich Albion and Celtic.