Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill yesterday did what any sane person would, put himself out of the running for the England hotseat. O’Neill did however, offer a few criticisms to the FA, namely that they didn’t choose him over Steve McClaren in the first place. O’Neill said:
‘When the job came up last time, I didn’t have a commitment. I was not in club management for personal reasons and when the opportunity came up with England I thought that was great. Would I be any good as a manager? Yes, I’d be brilliant. My ego thinks I’d be good at it and the rest of me thinks I would be brilliant too.’
But instead opting for O’Neill and his ego the FA in their wisdom chose Steve McClaren, a man who was knee deep in the Sven regime that they were so desperate to move away from. O’Neill declared his loyalty to Aston Villa saying:
‘I was flattered to be interviewed last time and obviously I didn’t do well enough. You have to ask yourself “Why would I be asked back again?”. I am uncomfortable with it because it looks as though 15 people are going to be interviewed. I’m not one of them.More importantly, the issue is a commitment to Aston Villa. I set out 16 months ago on this job and it is what I wanted to do. The job is far from complete. I feel like I am only just starting out. There are candidates out there. Capello wants the job and he has a fantastic pedigree. Mourinho is out there somewhere.’
So should be be directing all the teeth gnashing and frothing of mouths at the FA rather than Steve McClaren?