Martin O’Neill insists he has never thought about becoming Manchester United manager.

The Aston Villa boss faces Sir Alex Ferguson’s team in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, another marker of how well he has fared since taking over the Midlands outfit.

Whenever the future of the long-standing United manager raises its head O’Neill is usually linked with replacing him, but he insists this is something he has never considered.

“I have never thought about that at all, not for one second, not even when I was up at Celtic," the Ulsterman is quoted as saying in The Times.

“Sir Alex Ferguson will decide, I would reckon probably in the year 2033, when he feels the Champions League has passed him by one last time. I will have departed this earth long before him."

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