O'Neill hopes for Distillery tie

O'Neill is hoping for a 'home' trip in the Intertoto Cup

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill would love the chance to evoke a few memories by returning to Northern Ireland in the third round of the Intertoto Cup.

Villa will face O'Neill's former club Lisburn Distillery if they beat Finland's TPS Turku and Odense BK, from Denmark, in their qualifying ties.

O'Neill began his career with the club and won the Irish Cup in 1971 before moving to Nottingham Forest.

"It would be absolutely astonishing if we ended up playing them," O'Neill said

If the tie happens O'Neill knows he will be returning to a very different place.

"When I played for Distillery they weren't called Lisburn Distillery," he explained to the Villa website.

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"Lisburn's an area on the outskirts of Belfast but they were actually based in central Belfast.

"They had to move because there was a road planned that would've run through the pitch and, in my final season, we were in a troubled area and had to move on.

"I never played in the Lisburn area. That was something that happened after I left."

Villa enter the Intertoto Cup at the third round stage and they could go to Northern Ireland for the first leg on 19/20 July if Distillery come through their ties.

The second leg at Villa Park is on 26/27 July.