Martin O’Neill linked to Saudi club
Tuesday 26th October 2010, 10:00AM BST.
Former Villa boss Martin O’Neill has been linked with a shock return to management with Saudi club Al Hilal.
Reports claim the Northern Irishman, who walked out on Villa just five days before the start of the new season, is in talks with the mega-rich Asian club with a lucrative tax-free £4.5million two-year contract on offer.
Sven-Goran Eriksson is believed to have been initially earmarked for the post with the Asian Champions League semi-finalists but the Swede has, ironically, been recently installed boss at Leicester, where O’Neill holds iconic status.
But a move to the Saudi team, who are looking for a new boss after Belgian coach Eric Gerets agreed to take charge of Morocco, would still come as a surprise.
O’Neill would be among the frontrunners to take charge at Liverpool should Roy Hodgson leave, while he could yet figure in the running to take over from Fabio Capello when he steps down as England boss after Euro 2012.
However, O’Neill revealed over the weekend he is itching to get back into the game.
He said: “I’ve been enjoying myself and getting rather lazy these last two months.
“But I obviously miss the game and I’m sure I’ll get back into it at some stage if I can.
“I would rather that happened sooner than later.”
The 58-year-oldalso broke his silence on his Villa departure and confirmed he left over a difference in opinion with owner Randy Lerner.
He said: “I think we decided we weren’t going in the same direction, I’m not sure what direction that was.
“Probably the less said, the better.”
His predecessor at Villa, David O’Leary, is already managing in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates with Dubai club Al-Ahli.
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