O'Neill will not manage England

By Colletta Smith

Martin O'Neill was rejected by the FA last year

Martin O'Neill has confirmed that he does not want to be considered among possible candidates to succeed Steve McClaren as England manager.

The Aston Villa boss was the bookies' favourite, but he said he wanted to finish what he had started at the club.

"I'm sure the FA will be searching far and wide for someone to take them forward, and they'll have loads of people interested in the job," he said.

"It's a fantastic job to do, but I am committed to Aston Villa."

Lawrie McMenemy, former Northern Ireland manger and assistant England manager, said he thought O'Neill would have been an ideal choice.

He said the Kilrea man could have injected "the discipline which appears to be lacking in the team".

O'Neill was rejected by the FA when he applied for the England job last year after Sven-Goran Eriksson left the post.

Having been overlooked in favour of McClaren, it is thought he may have been reluctant to put himself forward again.

FA officials said on Thursday that they were in no rush to appoint a replacement for McClaren, who was sacked after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008.