Pulis tips O'Neill for England

01 March 2009 13:18
Stoke boss Tony Pulis has tipped Martin O'Neill to be the next England manager. The Potters face O'Neill's Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday and Pulis believes this weekend's opposition harbour a future Three Lions boss. O'Neill has been in the running to be the national coach for the last two occasions, but was snubbed in favour of Steve McClaren and current manager Fabio Capello. But the Stoke boss feels it will be third time lucky for the Northern Irish tactician. "I think Martin is a top manager," Pulis said. "He was incredibly unfortunate to be overlooked for the England job last time. "The Villa fans won't thank me for saying it but, if he keeps doing what he is doing at Villa, he really should be the next England manager." Pulis was also keen to heap praise on his Villa counterpart, while dismissing claims that O'Neill is an 'old-fashioned' type of manager. Pulis added: "You have to admire Martin for having the balls to start at non-league with Grantham Town. "That says something about him. I've got a hell of a lot of respect for him. "He has this stigma of being an old-fashioned manager but you look at his team and it isn't old-fashioned. "They have the right players in the right positions and they know what their jobs are."

Source: SKY_Sports