O'Neill repeats England stance
Martin O'Neill seemed to be the fans choice to be England manager
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Steve McClaren's contract as England manager has been terminated by the Football Association after an emergency meeting this morning. |  |
Saturday, 24, Nov 2007 08:56
Martin O'Neill has today ruled out any chance of taking over as England boss and reiterated his commitment to Aston Villa.
The Northern Irishman was one of the favourites to take over from Steve McClaren after he was sacked for England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008. He also claimed yesterday that he would be "brilliant" in the job.
But speaking after his side's 3-0 victory at Middlesbrough, O'Neill said: "It's gone for me, it's absolutely gone," said O'Neill. "I made that clear yesterday.
"Some of the little comments afterwards were tongue in cheek for a bit of fun, but the serious business of it was there."
The 55-year-old was linked with the England post before McClaren took over, but he went to Villa Park instead and has guided the team to seventh in the Premier League.
"I've got a commitment here," said O'Neill. "This is my future. When I came here to Villa there was no obstacle in the way at that time.
"I'm really enjoying the job. We have young players who want to learn and who I'm absolutely delighted with. Of course, I'm delighted with the more experienced players as well, who have played a big part in bringing the young players along."
Only Italian Fabio Capello has so far openly said he is interested in the England job. The Football Association (FA) has until March to pick a new manager as England head to France for their next international match.