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Was Milner deal the reason for O’Neill’s Villa walkout?
The prospect of losing his best player to Man City two years running may have been too much
Aston Villa's preparations for the Premier League season have been thrown into chaos after manager Martin O'Neill walked out on the club less than a week before the campaign starts.
No reason was given for his abrupt resignation, but the manager was said to have recently held talks with Villa's American owner Randy Lerner over the club's transfer policy and the likely sale of James Milner to Manchester City.
O'Neill's future seemed in the balance at the end of last season when he and Lerner were reported to be at loggerheads over the financing of transfers. But in May Lerner insisted that the Northern Irishman had committed to Villa.
Now, with the club set to sell their star player to Manchester City for the second summer running, O'Neill has resigned.
Last year Villa, who have threatened to break into the top four in each of the last two seasons, sold Gareth Barry to City and Milner is expected to follow in his footsteps for around £24m this summer.
O'Neill was not happy to let his top players go and he was also frustrated by what he saw as Lerner's reluctance to finance new signings. It is unknown how much of the proposed fee for Milner would have been made available for transfers.
His resignation comes as a shock as he and Lerner enjoyed an amicable relationship for most of the four years they worked together. Both men arrived in Birmingham in the summer of 2006 and Lerner was viewed by many as the epitome of sensible owner, refusing to saddle the club with debt and maintaining a low profile. Meanwhile, on the pitch O'Neill transformed Villa's fortunes with three consecutive top-six finishes in the league and a place in February's League Cup final.
However, as the financial realities of life in the Premier League started to bite cracks began to appear in the relationship as Villa tried to break into the top four with only an average transfer budget.
In a statement on the club's website O'Neill said: "I have enjoyed my time at Aston Villa immensely. It's obviously a wrench to be leaving such a magnificent club. I would like to pay tribute to the Villa players, my coaching staff and the Villa supporters for all the support and encouragement they have given both the club and me personally during my time as manager. I wish them all the best for the future.
Kevin MacDonald, the reserve team manager, takes over as caretaker manager and will prepare the team for the opening Premier League game of the season against West Ham on Saturday. ·
