Robbie Savage believes Martin O'Neill would be the ideal man to succeed Steve McClaren as England manager.
Midfielder thinks Irishman should succeed McClaren
Robbie Savage believes Martin O'Neill would be the ideal man to succeed Steve McClaren as England manager.
O'Neill has been linked with the role following England's failure to reach Euro 2008 and McClaren's subsequent dismissal.
Savage played under O'Neill at Leicester and he feels the Irishman's no-nonsense approach would be perfect for England.
"Martin is the boss - there's no two ways about it," the Blackburn midfielder told The Sun. "It's either his way or the highway.
"It doesn't matter how big a name you are, Martin will treat you exactly the same way as anyone else.
"I don't know what it is about him - it's impossible to describe. He has this fearsome aura, almost like a boxer going into a ring.
"If it's possible to put it this way, I suffered a nice fear. It was excitement, fear and an adrenalin rush all rolled up in one.
Aura
"If you went out there and did it for him you went home feeling like the best player in the world.
"He has this incredible aura that just makes you want to play for him."
The egos of certain England players have been called into question by the likes of Roy Keane, but Savage insists O'Neill would have no problem axing anybody who was underperforming.
He explained: "He is a brilliant man-motivator and he takes absolutely no messing - as I found after a game against Sunderland when Stefan Schwarz rolled over and over after one of my tackles.
"I knew it was a fair challenge but he was doing all that stuff and I stood over him telling him to get up. After the game a furious Martin O'Neill got me and said 'ever do that again and you will never play for this club again'.
"Like I said, you do it his way - or not at all."
