O'Neill facing tough test

Martin O’Neill will have to overcome one of the biggest challenges of his distinguished career if, as expected, he is appointed Aston Villa’s new manager.

O’Neill was part of the Nottingham Forest side which defied the odds to win the European Cup twice.

Then as a manager he transformed an ordinary bunch of players at Leicester into an outfit which secured four successive top-10 finishes in the Premier League and won the League Cup twice.

It was a similar story at Celtic, whom he re-established as Scotland’s number one side after they had played second fiddle to Rangers.

But reviving Villa will be as demanding a task as anything he has achieved during the past three decades as he looks set to replace David O’Leary as manager.

Villa quashed speculation that a new manager wold be announced on Tuesday - but it is expected to happen sooner rather than later.

A club spokesman told PA Sport on Tuesday evening: “The board of Aston Villa remain committed to appointing the best man for the job but the situation remains ongoing – and at present no announcement on a new manager is planned.”

Villa chairman Doug Ellis has been intensifying his efforts to land O’Neill after being in regular contact with the Northern Irishman throughout the summer.

Even 10 years ago Villa were a regular top-six side but they have been in steady decline and last season just avoided relegation from the Premiership.

It has prompted long-serving midfielder Gareth Barry to question whether he should seek fresh pastures although, contrary to reports, he has not handed in a transfer request.

With no new blood brought in so far this summer – and on-loan James Milner returning to Newcastle – O’Neill will have to work quickly to strengthen if he takes control.

Whether he can work on a day-to-day basis with 82-year-old Ellis is one of the major considerations for O’Neill, with Villa flying out to Germany and Holland for a pre-season tour at the weekend.

But O’Neill may instead have new owners to operate alongside with four consortiums in the hunt to buy Villa.

American billionaire Randy Lerner, a fan of O’Neill, is expected to make a formal bid in the next 24 hours after reviving his interest in Villa.

Ellis is looking for whoever takes over to make £20million available for new signings on top of the £64m (€94m) required to buy Villa and that would be no problem for Lerner, the owner of NFL side Cleveland Browns.

On the playing side, Martin Laursen is looking to step up his claims for a first-team comeback on the pre-season tour after playing 45 minutes for the reserves against Chasetown.

The Denmark defender has been sidelined for a year with a knee problem but suffered no ill-effects.