It has been an interesting couple of days at Aston Villa with rumours and speculation surrounding the future of boss Martin O’Neill following their 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea on Saturday. In the last couple of weeks Villa have slipped out of the Champions League race and there have been some strong rumours coming out of Villa Park that Martin O’Neill was ready to quit the club over a lack of movement in the January transfer window. Those rumours have been dismissed by the club but there is very rarely any smoke without fire and the bookmakers reacted in kind by slashing his odds to be the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked.

Villa have had a fantastic season so far with a League Cup Final already in the bag, European football on the cards for next season as well as an FA Cup Semi-Final against Chelsea at Wembley to look forward to and this news has come as a shock to most in the game. However, the Aston Villa fans are notoriously fickle and there have been a few rumblings of discontent following their smashing at Stamford Bridge at the weekend with some pointing the finger at O’Neill. In fairness to the Manager the squad seems to have been hit with a number of injuries over the past month and their squad has been exposed as they fight for that crucial 4th spot and Champions League qualification.

It is thought that O’Neill clashed with Randy Lerner over the transfer budget for the January window with the Gaffer worried that a couple of injuries would undermine their push for that 4th spot which is what seems to have happened. O’Neill has been a huge success at Villa Park since taking charge with the club gradually improving both on and off the pitch, losing O’Neill would be disastrous for the cub as he looks to continue their push up the table over the next couple of years. It appears that Villa will be looking at Europa League football next season which should be used as a springboard for further European success in the Champions League rather than disregarded in the way it has been by Villa in recent times.

Villa will need to beware that O’Neill is a Manager in demand and could well jump ship to a bigger club given half the chance, he does currently feature in both the Next Liverpool Manager Odds as well as the Next Man United Manager Betting which most would consider as bigger jobs than the one he currently holds at Villa Park. We feel that those Villa fans wanting O’Neill to go should be careful what they wish for as he could well end up Managing in the Champions League sooner rather than later but it might not be at Villa Park.

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