Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed he withdrew from the possibility of becoming the next Aston Villa manager due to family reasons.
The Molde boss and former Manchester United striker was last week in England to hold informal talks with Villa owner Randy Lerner.
Solskjaer was understood to be the first-choice candidate to succeed Alex McLeish after the Scot was sacked following a Premier League season in which Villa narrowly avoided Premier League relegation.
But the 39-year-old, who is only 12 months into a four-year contract at Molde and is looking forward to next season in the UEFA Champions League, did not want to relocate his family.
Solskjaer only moved back to his native Norway one-and-a-half years ago from the UK after a successful spell as United reserve team boss and he has no immediate desire to return.
"I had a very open and honest, and very nice, dialogue with Mr Lerner and he really understood my decision on thinking about my family, staying where I am now," Solskjaer said at a media conference broadcast on Sky Sports News.
"I brought them home 18 months ago and it (do we want to go back to England?) has never been an issue for us.
"When something like this (Villa) came up, we had to discuss it and he (Lerner) was really understanding."
Norwich manager Paul Lambert is now the favourite for the Villa job, although the Scot has insisted he is happy at Carrow Road.
Questioned on the subject on Tuesday night at Adam Drury's testimonial, Lambert said: "You must be winding me up. You are asking me some negative things and this is about Adam Drury.
"I am delighted I am at Norwich if that is what you are asking me. I have never said I wanted away, and people jump to conclusions."
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