Graham Coughlan admits he's been left uncomfortable by the links with the vacant job at Plymouth Argyle and insists his former club have not been in touch with Bristol Rovers over his availability.
Plymouth sacked Derek Adams on April 28 and were relegated into League Two last weekend with Coughlan, who made 193 appearances as a player for the Green Army, installed as the bookmakers' favourite at 8/11.
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Pilgrims' chairman Simon Hallett has claimed he wants to make a quick appointment and is looking for a young, modern and forward-thinking manager but speaking to BBC Radio Bristol , Coughlan insists there has been no contact.
"I don't know much about it, and I haven't been thinking about it to be honest," Coughlan said. "I don't have an ego so I do find the attention and the headlines a little bit uncomfortable.
"I'd love it if the limelight was on the players and the positivity that they've created at the club, and other sources at the club i.e the groundstaff, the young kids who made their debut this year. I wish the limelight was on others.
"I don't want to take or distract from the players' achievements. I don't want the limelight or any of that attention; I'm not built like that, that isn't me.
"To clarify, I won't skip the subject, but there has been no contact from Plymouth to me or to the football club. And we haven't contacted Plymouth at our end.
"Speculation without foundation. It's an old story, it crops up every time the job comes up but the old adage, 'if people read it, they believe it.'"
When pressed on if he'd be interested in the job , should it become available, Coughlan delivered something of a confused message: repeating his stance but also hinting his future at the Mem is slightly uncertain.
Coughlan signed a two-and-a-half year contract when he was made Darrell Clarke's permanent successor in January having taken over as caretaker in mid-December.
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In claiming "no manager has two years on their contract" he could have been alluding to the notoriously short shelf-life of football managers. But it was far from clear, although the Dubliner's honesty may also have gotten the better of him.
"I'd be crazy to sit here and say I'd see those two years through," he added. "You want to be successful in your life and in your career. Contracts are contracts, two years is maybe a little bit of a myth ... no manager has two years on their contract.
"I don't want to get into it, get embroiled in it because one slip of the tongue and there will always be people sitting there in the background waiting to jump on the back of that.
"If it [contact from Plymouth] happens, it happens and we'll deal with it. I'm contracted to Bristol Rovers. The decision is theirs, not mine and, as I say, they haven't been in contact."
