Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has brushed aside speculation linking him with the Tottenham Hotspur job after his brilliant first season at Turf Moor.
Spurs are on the lookout for a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, who left on bitter terms during the most recent international break after blasting his "selfish" squad.
Conte let rip in a press conference after Spurs threw away a two-goal lead to draw with basement side Southampton, and he left by mutual agreement a couple of weeks later.
Cristian Stellini - Conte's former number two - has taken the reins until the end of the season with Ryan Mason as his assistant, but the Italian is not expected to be given the job on a full-time basis.
Having already secured Burnley's promotion to the Premier League with six games to spare, Kompany is understood to be on Daniel Levy's shortlist for a new permanent manager in North London.
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However, speaking to the press ahead of the weekend's Championship clash with Reading, Kompany insisted that he is not giving any thought to his future, and he believes that Turf Moor is an "enviable" and "enjoyable" place to work.
"It is not at the forefront of my thoughts at all. Wherever I am, in my head, it is always the biggest job in the world," the 37-year-old told reporters.
"I don't waste answers on my future I said that from day one at Burnley, in anticipation that one day there would be questions like this. [I will] crack on.
"I'm focusing on Reading and the next games. It's an enviable place to work. We have infrastructure, we have talent, it's an enjoyable place to work."
When asked if he was happy in his current role, a defiant Kompany responded: "I know the question, but what can I say? I'm not happy? We are 14 points clear at the top of the Championship. A key part is I'm always happy, never satisfied."
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Kompany is contracted to Burnley for another two seasons, and he has led the Clarets to 90 points from 40 Championship games during a remarkable return to England, having been in charge of Anderlecht for two years between 2020 and 2022.
The Belgian also took Burnley to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup - where they were thrashed by Manchester City - and they are on course to break the all-time Championship points record, set by Reading in 2005-06 with 106.
Spurs are believed to have earmarked Julian Nagelsmann as their top managerial target following his Bayern Munich sacking, but the German is said to have immediately turned down an approach from the Lilywhites after being let go by the Bundesliga champions.
Tottenham could try again for Nagelsmann in the summer, when he is expected to make a decision on his future, but Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain could also be after his services.
Luis Enrique, Marco Silva, Thomas Frank, Ange Postecoglu, Oliver Glasner and Sergio Conceicao have also been linked with the vacant hotseat at Tottenham, who sit fifth in the Premier League table ahead of Saturday's visit of Bournemouth.
Ben Knapton
