Having taken over from David O'Leary in August 2006, Martin O'Neill arrived at Villa Park on a wave of euphoria, with more than 1,000 Aston Villa fans turning up to welcome their esteemed new coach.

The Northern Irishman earned the respect of many after successful spells at Leicester City and Celtic, and immediately proved why he had been so highly sought after, as Villa began the 2006/07 season with a nine match unbeaten run. An 11th place finish was more than bettered in 2007/08, when O'Neill guided his side to sixth spot and Intertoto Cup qualification.

O'Neill took his first steps as a manager in 1987 at non-league Grantham Town, after a playing career that saw him win the European Cup with Nottingham Forest under legendary coach Brian Clough, and captain Northern Ireland during the 1982 World Cup.

With Grantham facing closure, O'Neill quickly transformed the team's fortunes and they were unlucky to miss out on promotion from the Beazer Homes League Midland Division. After a second season with Grantham, he moved to Shepshed Charterhouse where he had a two month spell.

From humble beginnings, O'Neill's managerial career received a boost when he took charge of Wycombe Wanderers, with whom he twice won the FA Trophy and achieved promotion to the Football League in 1993.

Having spent five years at the helm at Adams Park, O'Neill was appointed Norwich City manager in the summer of 1995. His reign lasted only six months before he resigned, citing differences with the chairman as his reason for leaving. Almost immediately, he was appointed Leicester manager.

Under O'Neill, the Foxes were promoted to the FA Carling Premiership via the play-offs in 1996. It was in the Premiership that O'Neill built his reputation as a fantastic coach. In the four top flight seasons he enjoyed at Filbert Street, the side never finished outside of the top half of the table. In addition, O'Neill led the side to League Cup glory in 1997 and 2000, making him the first Leicester manager to win silverware in 26 years.

O'Neill crossed the border to join Celtic in June 2000. In his first season, the club won the Scottish domestic treble, with a particular highlight being the 6-2 win against Rangers in his first Old Firm derby. In five years under O'Neill, the Bhoys took part in the 2003 UEFA Cup final, won three Scottish Premier League titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup. In the all-important encounters with Rangers, O'Neill achieved a record seven consecutive victories. During his time in Glasgow he was awarded an OBE for services to football.

Three days before Celtic's Scottish Cup final win over Dundee United in May 2005, the club announced that O'Neill would leave his post after the match to care for his wife, who had been diagnosed with cancer. He spent just over a year out of the game before accepting the Aston Villa job.

In the 2007/08 season, O'Neill's second at the club, Villa showed a massive improvement with the manager exercising his skills to get the most out of the smallest squad in the Barclays Premier League. Although the Villans finished sixth and qualified for the Intertoto Cup, they will count themselves unlucky to have missed out on a UEFA Cup spot on the final day of the season.

They put that right in 2008/09 finishing sixth to qualify for the Europa League, the rebranded version of the UEFA Cup. For much of the campaign it looked as though they might edge into the Champions League places and although they ran out of steam, it was still a highly creditable finishing position.

1999: Manages 100th Premier League match (Leicester City 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday, 6th February)
2000: Celebrates 50th Premier League win (Newcastle United 0-2 Leicester City, 15th April)
2007: Manages 200th Premier League match (Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Aston Villa, 28th October)