Henrik Larsson distances himself from Celtic manager job

The 38-year-old, who is currently manager of Swedish second division side Landskrona, backed ex-team mate Neil Lennon for the post but refused to be drawn on whether he would accept the post in the future.

Larsson (pictured) emerged as one of the candidates for the job in the wake of Tony Mowbray's departure.

He remains a hugely popular figure amongst the Celtic support having scored 174 goals in 221 appearances for the Parkhead side before moving on to Barcelona and Manchester United.

He said: "I will always be connected with that Celtic job.

"It doesn't matter what I say, it's a great honour to be connected with that job.

"But I don't think it's fair to speak about another man's job, either, and that is why I have refused to say too much.

"The future will tell if it will be or not."

The job is currently being filled by former team-mate Neil Lennon on an interim basis.

And Larsson believes, if he can deliver silverware this season, the former skipper will land the role for good.

He added: "If Lenny wins the Scottish Cup, then the job is in his hands and it's great for him.

"I feel for sure he is going to do it. Both he and Johan Mjallby know what it means to play for Celtic and I'm sure he is going to instil that into the players."

Larsson joined Landskrona last December, two months after announcing his retirement from a 21-year playing career which ended at Helsingborg.

It represents the Celtic legend's first move into coaching and he has penned a one-year deal with the club which finished eighth in last season's Swedish second division.

When I moved to Celtic, I didn't really know what it meant until the last few days of the season when we stopped (Rangers winning) 10-in-a-Row.

'A grown man came up to me and cried. Then it hit home.

'I hope Lenny can get that into the current players - it will be very important for the team to understand just what it means to play for Celtic.'