United job ‘daunting’

MARTIN O’NEILL has distanced himself from talk of becoming Manchester United’s next manager — but admitted the man who eventually replaces Alex Ferguson will face a daunting task.

O’Neill was widely touted as a potential successor to Ferguson when the Scot announced his intention to quit in May last year.

Ferguson’s decision to abandon retirement plans ensured there was no vacancy to fill, although it has since been claimed by Ferguson himself that current England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was the man earmarked to step into his shoes.

O’Neill is on a rolling contract at Celtic and, after winning two league titles and then taking the Hoops to their first European final for 33 years last season, his name is mentioned with virtually every top job that comes available. However, he believes even the most highly-rated European coaches such as Ottmar Hitzfeld and Fabio Capello would find filling Ferguson’s shoes a difficult task.

“The job Sir Alex has done at Manchester United defies belief,” he said.