O'Neill Stages Return As Liverpool Wait

Martin O'Neill has revealed that he wants to get back into management sooner rather than later. The 58-year-old coach left Aston Villa just days before the start of the season and is now looking to return to the dugout. O'Neill has had successful spells at Wycombe, Leicester and Celtic during an impressive 23-year managerial career, but left Villa after a disagreement with owner Randy Lerner. "I've been enjoying myself and getting rather lazy these last two months," he said in the Daily Mirror. "But I obviously miss the game and I'm sure I'll get back into it at some stage if I can. "I'd rather that happened sooner rather than later." On his departure from Villa in August, he added: "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." Speculation O'Neill has been linked with a number of high-profile positions such as the vacancy at Middlesbrough, and with Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson under pressure, speculation has suggested that he could potentially be the next manager at Anfield. A career-defining job could be O'Neill's next step. He has also been linked with England, as Fabio Capello is set to step down after the European Championships in 2012. The former Northern Ireland midfielder was interviewed for the Three Lions job following the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2006, and he has revealed his disappointment that he was not appointed. "I was interviewed for the England job back before Steve McClaren got it," O'Neill remarked. "Obviously Steve had been there as assistant to Sven at the time, but I'm not sure of the way the voting system went. "A number of candidates were interviewed - Big Sam Allardyce brought every piece of machinery and all the stats with him, unfortunately I didn't. "I just brought myself, and we all know what happened."