Alan Pardew is tight-lipped on links with Celtic job

It has been claimed that Southampton manager Pardew was recommended to the Parkhead hierarchy after they sought opinions from respected figures in the game about who should succeed Tony Mowbray as manager. Pardew declined to rule himself in or out yesterday.

He said: "It has been brought to my attention that my name is in one of the papers but I have no comment to make."

Caretaker manager Neil Lennon remains the bookmakers' favourite for the job.

The former Celtic captain this week said he had yet to hold talks with major shareholder Dermot Desmond or chief executive Peter Lawwell about being appointed on a permanent basis.

But the Northern Irishman is keen to be handed the reins.

Pardew, 49, led West Ham to the 2006 FA Cup final, seeing his team beaten by Liverpool on penalties. He was sacked less than halfway through the following season after a poor run of results and suffered the same fate at Charlton two years later.

But he has rebuilt his reputation at Coca-Cola League One Southampton, who are close to a play-off spot despite a ten-point deduction.

They also won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy last month.

Meanwhile, Mowbray has emerged as a contender for the manager's job at Bristol City, with former Scotland manager George Burley also believed to be on the English Championship club's shortlist to replace Gary Johnson.

Mowbray is still in negotiations with Celtic for a settlement for the rest of his Parkhead contract, along with assistants Mark Venus and Peter Grant. And Burley is keen to get back in football after he was relieved of his duties by the SFA last year after Scotland's miserable World Cup campaign.

City chief executive Colin Sexstone said: "You only have to look at the standard of the applicants to realise how far this club has come. We want to be challenging for the play-offs at least next season."