Source: SKY_Sports
O'Neill committed to Villa
Martin O'Neill insists he is committed as ever to making Aston Villa a real force.[LNB] With Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure at Manchester United moving closer and closer to coming to an end, a host of names are regularly linked with taking over at Old Trafford.[LNB]And O'Neill is very much the bookies favourite to take over from Ferguson, but he insists he sees Villa as a long-term project.[LNB]"I'm numb to it [speculation]. Being linked to jobs is something that has occurred in my life for the last 10 or 12 years," O'Neill told The Sun.[LNB]"I love my job here, I really do. I would like to continue and see if we can keep improving.[LNB]"If this club is going to be successful I would like to be part of it. And not just part of it, I would like to be driving it."[LNB]HappyO'Neill is delighted with the role played by owner Randy Lerner, who has allowed the Northern Irishman a free role since taking charge of the club.[LNB]"The chairman has a reasonably grand plan for Villa. He wants to improve the ground but he doesn't want to lose the heart and soul of the football club," he continued.[LNB]"I kind of like that. The bit of glory that we had on the field has enhanced his drive.[LNB]"For a couple of weeks we were in the top four and had the possibility of continuing the run and making that breakthrough. In the end while things are a bit disappointing, it's still fundamentally exciting.[LNB] "If we had managed to do something to bring in more money then you can do things more quickly.[LNB]"But for us to try and break into the top four, next season it's going to be even more difficult.[LNB]"Manchester City have the wherewithall to improve their situation. Tottenham spent money in January to stay in the division and you get the impression they want to be big players as well.[LNB]"If you'd said to me before the InterToto Cup game at Odense last summer that we would finish fifth and skirt round the top four with the smallest squad in the Premier League, I would have accepted that.[LNB]"But when you get a wee taste of something - even if it doesn't stick and is only on one finger and not your hand - you get greedy.[LNB]"We still have to earn the right to be a proper top-four team. Maybe these last five or six weeks have brought disappointment - but also a bit of reality."[LNB]
