Preston North End manager Alex Neil has poured cold water on speculation linking him with a move to West Bromwich Albion, reports Lancashire Live.

The Baggies are on the look-out for a new manager after parting company with Darren Moore a fortnight ago, with the club's hopes of automatic promotion hanging by a thread following defeats to Leeds United and Sheffield United.

Former Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic is believed to have had talks with the West Midlands club, and is a popular candidate after winning promotion to the Premier League twice in his managerial career with both Fulham and Watford.

Current North End boss Neil is also believed to be high up on the club's shortlist, after turning North End from relegation fighters to real play-off contenders in the space of six months.

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But, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club show, via reports from Lancashire Live, the Scotsman played down rumours linking him with a move to Albion, insisting that his "sole intention" is on Preston North End.

He said: "I don't really think about it - there's been absolutely no contact and it's speculation at its best. When you're a manager of any football club, speculation is rife all the time."

"The amount of times in press conferences we've been linked with players and some of them I've never even heard of. I would take speculation with a pinch of salt - my sole attention is on Preston North End, how well we've been doing and trying to continue that."

Current Albion caretaker manager James Shan is doing a fine job at the helm of the club, achieving back-to-back wins against Swansea City and Brentford over the last two weeks. The Baggies sit 4th in the Sky Bet Championship table, seven points off the top two.

The Verdict

This is a massive blow for Neil, as he has pretty much ended any speculation linking him with a move to West Brom.

I really like Neil as a manager - he is doing a fantastic job at Preston when you consider that they have one of the lowest budgets in the league, and he also has experience of promotion from the Championship with Norwich on his CV too.

Jokanovic has got to be the man now, surely?