Steve McClaren rules himself out of Aston Villa job

Derby County boss Steve McClaren has ruled himself out of the running to take over the vacant managerial post at Aston Villa.

Paul Lambert was sacked on Wednesday evening after a 2-0 defeat to Hull City left the Villans in the relegation zone and without a league victory for 10 matches.

McClaren, who was previously considered by Villa owner Randy Lerner back in 2011, has found himself linked with a number of Premier League vacancies this season, having guided Derby to third place in the Championship.

However, with the Rams just one point off the top of the table, the former England boss is determined to finish the job and gain promotion with his current club.

"I have a job to do here and I'm solely focusing on trying to get Derby into the Premier League," he told Sky Sports News.

"We've got a very, very good chance and everything else is speculation. We've got 16 games to go and have a chance of achieving what we want to achieve and I'm not going to walk away from it.

"No doubt who goes in, it is a very good job, a big job and a sleeping giant. And someone is going to be very lucky to get that."

Tim Sherwood is the current favourite to replace Lambert at Villa Park.