SPECULATION LINKING IRELAND boss Martin O’Neill to the vacant Everton post has intensified of late.
The Derry native’s odds to take over the Toffees job have been reduced significantly over the past few hours.
The 65-year-old coach had originally verbally agreed on a new contract with the Football Association of Ireland, though it us understood that O’Neill has yet to put pen to paper on the prospective deal.
The mood in Ireland regarding O’Neill has changed considerably of late, after the team’s 5-1 Aviva Stadium thrashing at the hands of Denmark earlier this month ended their hopes of securing a place at next summer’s World Cup.
It is not the first time during his tenure as Ireland boss that O’Neill has been linked with a Premier League job.
Last February, he ruled himself out of contention of a return to former club Leicester City, following Claudio Ranieri’s sacking.
However, O’Neill was understandably downbeat following the Denmark loss and afterwards suggested he would consider his future as Ireland manager.
Everton are currently struggling, as despite bringing in a host of high-profile signings including Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurðsson in the summer, they sit just outside the relegation zone Premier League table.
Caretaker boss David Unsworth has struggled to substantially improve the situation at Goodison Park, as highlighted by last Thursday’s embarrassing 5-1 defeat at the hands of Atalanta in the Europa League.
A host of names have previously been linked with the vacant managerial post, including Sean Dyche, Marco Silva and Sam Allardyce.
Everton manager odds:
Martin O’Neill – 11/10
Sean Dyche – 4/1
Marco Silva – 5/1
Sam Allardyce – 6/1
David Unsworth – 13/2
Andre Villas-Boas – 7/1
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