David O' Leary admits he should have taken the Newcastle United job in 2009 but the former Leeds manager did not know if Derek Llambias was telling him everything about Mike Ashley because 'something just didn't add up'.
The Magpies were preparing for their first season in the second-tier in 16 years but, at one point, it was not clear who was going to be the club's owner or who was even going to manage the team. There was also the small matter of a number of players wanting to leave.
Alan Shearer had been in charge for the final eight games of the previous campaign but Chris Hughton was then asked to step up on an interim basis initially.
O'Leary had held talks with managing director Derek Llambias, but it was a chaotiic period as Ashley looked to sell the Magpies before eventually taking the club off the market.
Hughton soon got the job on a permanent basis and, in his first season as a manager, the fans' favourite led the black-and-whites back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
O'Leary has few regrets in life but, in hindsight, the Irishman wishes he had taken the Newcastle job.
‘I should have taken the Newcastle job in 2009," O'Leary told the Daily Mail. "I’ve always loved the fans there.
"It reminds me of Leeds. I loved the Friday night in Newcastle before the game, the banter they had about them. So, yes, that is my one regret.
‘I would have loved to speak to Mike Ashley and make an opinion of him.
"I didn’t know if Derek Llambias was telling me everything about Mike. Something just didn’t add up.’
