Rowett to stay at Burton amid Blackpool talk

A statement on the League Two side's website confirmed that Blackpool, who are rooted to the foot of the Championship following a close-season of discontent, were given permission to speak to Rowett.

However, he has opted to remain in his current post, further adding to the woes of under-fire Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston, who earlier on Tuesday accused manager Jose Riga of acting unprofessionally after a poor start to the season.

Burton's statement read: "Following speculation in the media regarding the future of manager Gary Rowett, Burton Albion can confirm that Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston approached chairman Ben Robinson yesterday afternoon (Monday 8 September) for permission to speak to Gary Rowett about their managerial position.

"Burton Albion gave Blackpool permission to speak to Gary following their approach and he met with Blackpool representatives today (Tuesday 9th September) to discuss the position. Following that meeting, Gary Rowett has confirmed to the club that he will not leave Burton Albion at this present time to join Blackpool."

Rowett, who guided Albion to the play-off final last season, added: "Following discussions with Blackpool, I have decided that I will remain at Burton Albion for the foreseeable future. I feel as though it is not the right job for me at the present time.

"We've made an excellent start to this season, winning seven out of eight games and I feel we have an excellent group of players in the squad currently. 

"I enjoy working with them immensely and this is a very exciting time to be involved at Burton Albion."

Oyston faced major criticism for failing to recruit players ahead of the season, with Riga initially inheriting a squad with just six professionals on the books.

Those numbers were added to, although the squad remains threadbare.

So poor is the relationship between the pair that the manager returned to his native Belgium during the current international break without the club's approval.

Oyston subsequently branded Riga "unprofessional" and it remains unclear whether he will remain at the helm.