Former Sunderland and Southampton striker Kevin Phillips has dismissed claims that Paulo Fonseca is a contender for the Celtic hot seat.

Reports earlier this week suggested that the Roma manager’s name had been put forward for the role, amid doubts over whether bookies favourite Eddie Howe will take the job.

Phillips believes there is unlikely to be any truth in the Fonseca rumours and he has backed the Hoops’ potential appointment of Howe:

“Quite frankly, that stinks of putting two and two together for me. He has left Roma and all of a sudden he is top of the list to take the Celtic job? I’m not sure. I cannot confess to know him or have watched his Roma side on a regular basis but in Eddie Howe, Celtic could have a manager who plays attractive football and is a good man-manager. Celtic fans want to be exciting going forward next season and Eddie showed during his time at Bournemouth that he can bring that.”

To be fair, the speculation about Fonseca only came from one source so it has yet to be substantiated by any reliable news outlet. Reports in Italy had mentioned the Portuguese coach in relation to Arsenal, but not Celtic.

Even so, the longer it takes to appoint Howe, the greater the uncertainty, and you can bet there will be a number of other names linked with the Celtic post if the Englishman isn’t confirmed as the manager soon.