Villa boss O’Neill not pursuing Man Utd job

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has shrugged off talk of succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.

O’Neill tries today to nudge Fergie a day or so closer to packing up by robbing him of the first major trophy of the season when his Aston Villa side meet Manchester United in the Carling Cup Final.

But he insisted: “I’ve never thought about that at all, not for one second, not even way back when I was at Celtic.

“I think Sir Alex will decide, and I would think in about the year 2033 when he thinks to himself, ‘Yeah, I think that Champions League has just gone past me for the final time’, then I will have ­departed this earth long before him – because I’ve got a lot more worries!

“It’s never really bothered me. And of course there’s ­always somebody coming up, somebody whose name is ­relevant at the time.

“My job here, which I really enjoy, is trying for us to win a couple of competitions in the next couple of seasons. That is what it’s all about.

“And for anybody it would be absolutely an impossible job to succeed him. What can you do? Win the Premier League 10 times? You’d still be just starting out against him.

“I know Brian Clough went to Leeds and said he could win it better, but he only lasted 44 days. And to be honest it wasn’t his most inspiring ­moment.”