Last night reports of Eddie Howe being appointed as Celtic manager were described as premature.
This morning the reporter that broke the news, Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail has added that the former Bournemouth boss has distanced himself over an imminent move.
The use of the word imminent leaves the door open but it seems that more than six weeks after Neil Lennon resigned Celtic are no closer to appointing a replacement. In December the club announced a managerial review.
Over the last week there has been a number of optimistic reports of Howe closing in on the Celtic job but they were all coming from Scottish sources, in the main edition of the Daily Mail Mokbel turns the focus firmly towards Crystal Palace.
Eddie Howe has distanced himself from an imminent move to take the vacant managerial reins at Celtic. The former Bournemouth boss has emerged as a prime candidate to replace Neil Lennon, who was sacked in February following a disappointing season.
There has been suggestions that Howe was close to being appointed Celtic manager – but in a statement issued to Sportsmail on Wednesday night the 43-year-old indicated he was not close to returning to football.
A representative for Howe said: ‘There has been significant interest in Eddie from a number of clubs. However, talks of any deal being close are extremely premature. His plan remains to not return to management until the summer at the earliest.’
Should Celtic offer the manager's job to Eddie Howe
Yes, absolutely. Howe is the perfect fit
No, what has he won?
Howe has been available since August when he resigned after five years in the EPL with Bournemouth.
With Nick Hammond gone and Dom McKay arriving on April 19 to shadow Peter Lawwell the chain of command is currently unclear within Celtic with Dermot Desmond expected to have a major say in the appointment of a manager.