Martin O'Neill's nightmare did not come true. When he laid in bed and opened his eyes the next day, he was not woken by the phone ringing off the hook. It gave him a little peace of mind because it meant the club did not put up a massive sale of the main players. Otherwise, his phone would have been bombarded with calls from the news media and players' agents.
The Northern Irishman, who had been left exhausted by the recent transfer rumors and beleaguered by the team's top brass, which always liked to intervene in the team's affairs, laid in bed for a while before getting up to wash up and enjoy the breakfast his wife made for him.
While picking up the jug of milk, he stared blankly as he took the sports edition of The Sun from his wife next to him, which she had folded properly for him.
