O'Neill has persistently been linked with the England job in the past and was interviewed prior to McClaren's appointment.

Should England indeed qualify for Austria and Switzerland then it seems highly unlikely The FA will sack a manager they were criticised for appointing in the first place, with O'Neill loath to be drawn on the inevitable speculation.

"There is no point in speculating on speculation," he told the Daily Star Sunday.

"Let's take it one step at a time. That's the way to run with it.

"My own view, and I'm not just saying it for the sake of it, is that England's recent performances have been excellent."

While O'Neill stopped short of ruling himself out of contention, West Ham boss Curbishley has done just that - confirming there are no get-out clauses in his contract with regards taking other jobs.

"When I was at Charlton I had all sorts of clauses in the contract - and that's why I was given permission to talk in the first place," he told the Observer.

"But I didn't seek any of those sort of things in this contract.

"I'm ruling myself out entirely. This is where I want to be and this is where I want to be successful, so I've got no intention of leaving the club."