Martin O’Neill turns down Stoke City’s management offer to remain with Republic of Ireland

He may be staying put after all.

The future of Martin O'Neill took another interesting turn on Sunday afternoon when reports emerged that the Republic of Ireland manager has turned down the chance to become the new Stoke City manager. According to The Daily Telegraph, O'Neill has decided to stay in his current position as Ireland boss despite an offer that would have seen him return to Premier League management. It leaves Stoke continuing their search for Mark Hughes' successor after also missing out on former Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores, who also decided to stay in his current position, with Espanyol. O'Neill had been tipped to accept Stoke's offer as it offered him a route back to top-flight club management. However, as reported yesterday, the length of the contract offer was a potential deal-breaker. The Potters wanted to offer O'Neill a short-term deal, possibly until the end of the season, but that was not of interest to the 65-year-old former Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland boss. According to the Telegraph, O'Neill wanted to honour the verbal agreement he had with the FAI over a new two-year contract. Republic of Ireland assistant Roy Keane was expected to follow him to the bet365 Stadium but it now looks as though the duo will remain in charge at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland have friendlies against Turkey and France in March and May respectively, while they compete in the inaugural UEFA Nations League in September.