NO-GO KOEMAN

RONALD KOEMAN has ruled himself out of the Everton job – and could sign a new Southampton contract as early as next week.

The Merseyside club are desperate for the Dutchman to replace Roberto Martinez – promising a £100million kitty and hefty wages.

But Koeman, left, who has one year left on his current Saints deal, says he is going nowhere. When asked directly whether he will stay at Southampton rather than jump ship he answered: “Yes.” He added: “I know nothing about it. I am manager of Southampton, everybody knows I have one more year on my contract.

“We will sit together, analyse this season and analyse the future. I can understand the club worrying about the future, about players and signings, that they like to know if the manager would like to stay for more years. It is

possible I could sign a contract next week but that is always depending on the conversation.”

Saints, who yesterday tied down Chelsea target Fraser Forster to a five-year deal and James Ward-Prowse until 2022, could return to Europe if they beat Crystal Palace tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Mark Hughes, above, is also not going anywhere and pledged his future to Stoke. Hughes has been linked with the vacant job at Everton, but wants to carry on at Stoke, where he has a deal until 2019. Ahead of their match with West Ham, Hughes said: “I’m one of the more experienced Premier League managers so I shouldn’t be surprised by it really. You are never first choice in these lists. “There is invariably a list of foreign managers who are usually ahead of anybody. “But I am extremely happy here. “I’ve got a fantastic club to work for and great people.”