Top duo not interested in Celtic job

ROBERTO MARTINEZ and Andre Villas-Boas have both ruled themselves out of the running to become the next permanent manager of Celtic. Neil Lennon returned to Parkhead in February when he was appointed caretaker boss until the end of the season after Brendan Rodgers’ shock departure to Leicester

City. The Northern Irishman is unbeaten in seven games ahead of a Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen on Sunday as Celtic chase a treble Treble. However, with the identity of the man at the helm unclear beyond the summer, Martinez, Villas-Boas, Rafa Benitez, David Moyes and Michael O’Neill have all been linked with the job after a flurry of bets were placed with bookmakers. But Belgium boss Martinez dropped out of the running yesterday after a statement from his agent, Jesse De Preter. De Preter said: ‘Roberto always seems to be on the shortlist as soon as there is a vacancy at a big club. ‘But this is a false rumour about him going to Celtic. ‘It seems to have come from the fact Roberto has a Scottish wife and has ties to the country. However, there’s nothing to see here and I would suggest the bookies review their odds.’ Former Chelsea, Spurs and Porto boss Villas-Boas also confirmed he has no interest in managing in Scotland. The former protégé of Jose Mourinho took a sabbatical from football after leaving Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai SIPG in 2017. But his representative Jean-Paul Lares insists the 41-year-old won’t be the next manager of Celtic. Lares said: ‘Andre will not be working in Scotland in the foreseeable future and will not be available for comment.’ Earlier this week another potential candidate, Marco Rose, dropped out of the running when Borussia Monchengladbach confirmed they will appoint the RB Salzburg manager as their new boss at the end of the season.