O'Neill insists he is not part of Old Trafford plot

Martin O'Neill has denied plotting a switch to Manchester United with Celtic's major shareholder, Dermot Desmond. The Celtic manager has been linked to a possible takeover at Old Trafford by a group of Desmond's associates in Ireland dubbed "the Coolmore Mafia".

Desmond's close links with Sir Alex Ferguson have spawned speculation that such a move would also see Ferguson becoming chairman.

O'Neill has just signed a new contract, a rolling 12-month deal that was agreed in Barbados with Desmond while the Celtic players were in training in Florida. O'Neill has always tried to laugh off suggestions involving Old Trafford, joking that, if results dipped at Parkhead, Maidenhead United would be his more likely destination. But now he has spoken candidly for the first time on the matter to the club magazine Celtic View.

He said: "I can honestly tell you that I have never discussed any kind of business with Dermot other than that concerning Celtic Football Club. I know nothing about his interests outside the club and I have no wish to know. The truth is this here: it doesn't concern me."

O'Neill's wife, Geraldine, is said to be unhappy in Glasgow and their house is said to have been already put up for sale.

O'Neill, who has two daughters and jealously guards his family's right to privacy, insisted: "It's absolute nonsense. My wife has followed me everywhere, with little say in any of the moves we've ended up making. The suggestion that she has been an unsettling influence of some sort annoys me more than anything. It seems that all you need to do is say to a taxi driver 'Ah, it's a grey day today' and suddenly you hate the place and want to move. It's incredibly irritating."