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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

Martin O'Neill admits he was interested in Leicester job before Dean Smith was hired

Martin O'Neill had admitted that he was interested in the Leicester City job following Brendan Rodgers' sacking earlier this month.

The former Republic of Ireland manager won two league cup titles and reached another final in a glittering five-year spell with the Foxes between 1995-2000.

He went on to have successful spells at Celtic and Aston Villa before taking over as Ireland boss in 2013. He left that role five years later and spent a short period with Nottingham Forrest in 2019.

READ MORE: Martin O'Neill considered for shock appointment as Leicester caretaker boss

O'Neill has been out of work since then, but emerged as a shock candidate to replace Rodgers after the Antrim man was sacked following a wretched run of form that saw Leicester slip into the relegation zone.

The job eventually went to former Norwich boss Dean Smith, and although O'Neill claims he was never actually in contact with the club, he admits he would have been tempted to take over on a short-term basis had he been asked.

"If they had asked me, which they didn’t, I think that would have been interesting because you feel as if you could have got some points on the board," said O'Neill who was promoting Viaplay's coverage of Celtic v Rangers in Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

"I'm not saying it would have been a long-term thing. I would have thought about it anyway. And since Roy Hodgson is now 114 and Neil Warnock is 112, I think I am quite young!

"But, listen, I have not been proactive in any aspect of that and I’m actually kind of semi-enjoying myself."

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