Martin O'Neill has ruled out a return to Leicester City, as the Championship club look for a new man to lead them in their search for promotion to the Premier League.

The King Power Stadium outfit sacked Sven Goran Eriksson earlier this week after an inconsistent start to the campaign, and the Northern Irish manager has been one of the frontrunners for the position according to the bookmakers.

Despite a highly successful period with the club between 1995 and 2000, and the fact that he has been out of work since leaving Aston Villa back in August 2010, the coach has ruled out a return to his former side according to The Guardian.

This means that the ambitious outfit will have to look elsewhere for a new man to take control, with Mark Hughes and Alan Shearer other names that have been thrown into the melting pot.

"I have to open my mind now. It is not just what the news or fans want," Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn, the Leicester vice-chairman, has stated.

"I have to listen to everyone and [will] make a decision very carefully. The next manager should be taking us to the Premier League and I think he has to know this league because it's very tough, very tight," he concluded.

Leicester currently sit in 14th position in The Championship table, and face a difficult trip to take on West Ham at Upton Park on Saturday.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id='writer-1' align='right']