Former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill could have taken charge at Newcastle United.

Back in 2006, when Graeme Souness was struggling to click with the fans at the club, the Magpies' late chairman Freddy Shephard wanted someone who the fans would appreciate.

Ironically, they were looking at ex-Sunderland man O'Neill as the coach to bring the club back to the glory days.

"I spoke then at the time to Mr Shepherd," O'Neill told ChronicleLive following the release of his new book, 'On Days Like These'.

"I had a conversation. It never materialized. There were a number of people that they were interested in, but it didn't materialize anyway.

"Because I grew up as a Sunderland fanatic, I was getting a lot of letters from people saying, 'They will never forgive you if you go to Newcastle.'

“I think that was just from my brother - never mind anyone else!"