You blew it and I'd have been brilliant, O'Neill tells FA after turning down England

Sportsmail revealed yesterday that the Aston Villa manager had ruled himself out of the running to replace Steve McClaren, leaving FA chief executive Brian Barwick without his favoured candidate.

O'Neill said: 'When the job came up last time, I didn't have a commitment. I was not in club management for personal reasons and when the opportunity came up with England I thought that was great.

'Would I be any good as a manager? Yes, I'd be brilliant. My ego thinks I'd be good at it and the rest of me thinks I would be brilliant too.

'I was flattered to be interviewed last time and obviously I didn't do well enough. You have to ask yourself "Why would I be asked back again?".

'I am uncomfortable with it because it looks as though 15 people are going to be interviewed. I'm not one of them.

'More importantly, the issue is a commitment to Aston Villa. I set out 16 months ago on this job and it is what I wanted to do. The job is far from complete.

'I feel like I am only just starting out. There are candidates out there. Capello wants the job and he has a fantastic pedigree. Mourinho is out there somewhere.'

Former Chelsea chief Jose Mourinho is next after O'Neill on Barwick's list but the FA are unlikely to be able to tempt him to take on the job.

More suitable candidates included Fabio Capello, who has been out of work since leading Real Madrid to the Spanish title last season, and Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp.

The inexperienced Jurgen Klinsmann, who recovered from a bad start with Germany to lead the host nation to the semi-finals of the World Cup last summer, is one of the more fanciful names. He is currently out of work and living in California.

O'Neill added: 'If I'm free to take the job one day, it means I've had the sack from Aston Villa. You talk about the door being shut, but it may not have been open in the first place.'

O'Neill put a consoling arm around the shoulder of Scott Carson this week following his disastrous performance against Croatia.

He said: 'Peter Shilton made a mistake playing for England against Poland in 1973 and he went on to become the best goalkeeper in the world.'

Although the FA will not be rushed into a decision about the next England coach, the list of candidates is already dwindling.

The majority of Premier League managers ruled themselves out of the running yesterday, although there are a number of foreign coaches who are interested.

The FA have already made an informal approach to representatives of Capello, who told the BBC yesterday: 'England would be a very interesting challenge and difficult challenges have always fascinated me.

'I was convinced that Mourinho would have accepted but the fact he has opted to step aside means he has another aim.'

Capello, 61, has the credentials but Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer went in to bat for Klinsmann yesterday.

The Kaiser said: 'The job would be ideal for him and also for England. Jurgen is a man who has clear visions and he can push them through against opposition.

'With him I could very well imagine a new beginning in England. He has three years until the 2010 World Cup to build a new team and he would not have to worry about the problems of the past.'