Roberto Martinez has finally addressed the reports linking him to the Celtic job, affirming that his full focus is on the World Cup with Portugal.
For a while, Martinez was leading the race to become the next Hoops manager according to the bookies, and his name has always been on the list of candidates since. He may well be an option in the summer, but he will lead Portugal in America first of all.
During a press conference for the upcoming international games, he was asked about the links and his future. He said to RecordSport:
"The future of the head coach is not important. What matters is the World Cup. The World Cup cannot wait, the coach’s future can, and it can be discussed after the tournament. The president and I are aligned; the focus is the World Cup.
When there are good results, which is our case, because fortunately the Portuguese national team wins a lot, then it’s normal that I’ve had some.
It’s not a taboo subject, but now we are aligned to try to do everything we can to prepare our national team for the World Cup. That’s the focus.
We are all together in the federation for the same objective, which is to fight in the same way for the World Cup."
Of course, he's not going to admit to anything, but it does seem as though clubs have approached him. That will now raise the question of whether Celtic is one of them.
Who is leading the race to become Celtic manager?
Currently, Robbie Keane is leading the race to become the next Hoops manager. After he has enjoyed a good managerial spell at Ferencvaros, the board are reportedly feeling that he could be the one to take the club forward.
It was reported on Monday that the sporting director of Ferencvaros will not stand in Keane's way should he decide to leave, so that could make him an appealing option.
Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou is also being considered for the role after how well he has done in the Scottish Premiership this season. His side currently sits fourth in the league, an unexpected position for them at this point in the season, and some feel his tactics would fit Celtic to a tee.
The race is still wide open for that place in the dugout, and right now, it's too hard to say who will be standing there next season.