Aston Villa have reportedly seen an approach to appoint Phil Neville as part of their backroom staff rejected by the former Manchester United man.
Villa are currently looking for a new manager after making the decision to sack Roberto Di Matteo this month, following a run of just one win in 11 games to start the Championship season.
As chief executive Keith Wyness continues to lead the search along with technical director Steve Round, The Telegraph claim that the pair held talks with Neville over becoming the No.2 for the new manager.
The 39-year-old has previous experience working with Wyness and Round at Everton, but ultimately he’s decided to turn down the chance to move to Villa Park in order to chase a job as a manager outright.
Having left his position at Valencia at the end of last season, Neville is on the look out for a new job, but according to the report he will now continue to assess the market and wait for the right opportunity to manage a club to come along.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph add that Steve Clarke was interviewed on Monday for Villa’s managerial vacancy, with the former Reading boss brought in over the summer to be Di Matteo’s assistant.
Steve Bruce remains the favourite according to the report, but with the club’s next game against Wolverhampton Wanders rapidly approaching, they will want to make an appointment sooner rather than later in order to give their next boss as much time as possible to settle and prepare the players.