Jack Ross insists he is in no rush to move on from Hibernian as he refused to be drawn on speculation linking him with Celtic.
The Easter Road boss has been identified as a potential replacement for Neil Lennon if the Parkhead board decided to dispense with the Northern Irishman.
The Leith outfit’s sporting director Graeme Mathie has even confessed in a newspaper interview that the club have already started putting together a contingency plan in the event the 44-year-old is one day lured away from the capital.
But Ross has moved to allay the fears of Hibees as he declared he has unfinished business in Edinburgh.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere soon,” said Ross. “If Graeme is saying that then he’s just doing his job properly.
“From my point of view I’m very much enjoying the job and very happy where I’m at right now.
“I don’t think you’ll be surprised that I won’t be commenting on (the Celtic rumours) at all because someone is in that job. It is one of the biggest jobs in British football so it’s not for me (to comment), it’s about my concentration on doing my job here as well as I can.
“I do feel as though since I came back in the summer that it’s been a really good fit. I really enjoy the club and the progress we’ve made so far. It’s now about trying to push us as hard and as far as I can.”
Ross has racked up spells at four clubs in just five years since starting his coaching career with Alloa, with stints at St Mirren and Sunderland coming ahead of his move to Hibs.
He is well aware of the fact the managerial merry-go-round can leave unsuccessful bosses spinning into the wilderness.
But with his side flying high – a win away to Hamilton on Saturday will see them move above Celtic into second for 24 hours at least – Ross would like the chance to plant his feet under his current desk for a longer period than he has managed at any of his three previous clubs.
He said: “Football management is my chosen line of work and it’s something I want to be the best I can be at every single day.
“In 2016 I was still managing Alloa and by 2018 I was managing Sunderland, so it’s been quite a dramatic change in a short period of time.
“I had to cram a lot of learning into that couple of years. I feel as though I’m still doing that and I don’t think it will ever end.
“It’s always attractive, the idea of staying one place for a prolonged period of time.
“It isn’t that often now that there is time afforded to managers.
“The clamour for change and the turnover of managers is far greater than it’s ever been in the past so that’s a factor.
“But I’m happy at the moment and that’s a big thing, not just in your professional life but also your personal life.
“I do feel that with the ownership here, I’ve got a good relationship with Ron Gordon and his plans for the club and where I feel I can push us are in alignment.
“You can never say for certain as this is such an unpredictable profession but certainly at the moment there is a lot of contentment to where I’m at both professionally and personally.”
