Gary Holt says he can’t stop others linking him with the Kilmarnock job but insists he remains fully focused on Livingston.
The Rugby Park club are searching for a new manager after sacking Italian Angelo Alessio earlier this week when it became clear the former Juventus assistant’s relationship with the players had broken down.
Assistant manager Alex Dyer is the favourite to be handed the job on a permanent basis, but Holt’s name has also been mentioned.
The former midfielder was born locally in Irvine and spent six years as a Killie player between 1995 and 2001 before moving to Norwich City.
Holt accepts that he’s always going to be linked to the job given his history with the club, but is happy at Livingston.
“I can't stop people writing about it and I can't stop myself trending on Twitter, whatever that means!” He laughed.
“That is part and parcel of the game, but I am solely focused on Livingston, which is a great place to work and with great people.
“I enjoy the job I have at Livingston, I enjoy coming to work every single day and until someone tells me differently I will still be the manager of Livingston.
“Any success here goes hand-in-hand with the players. We know what we want to achieve and are aware of the targets, personally and collectively. It's pleasing when the club gets talked about positively for doing things well, and it's pleasing whenever players get spoken about in terms of international recognition.
“This club has gone through a period of being pilloried from pillar to post but we are trying to do everything right now.”
Holt revealed he’s been hard at work ahead of the January transfer window opening in a little under two weeks time, but will face the same challenges as many other clubs in an attempt to strengthen his squad.
He said: We're busy looking but it's a tough one. I don't think any manager that says 'aye, the January window's a great window'. Because you're scraping and fighting trying to find a diamond no-one's sourced or looked at that you think can do a job for you.
“Generally a lot of the players are available because somebody doesn't want them. And why is that? You then have to do a lot of background.
“Don't get me wrong, there can be one or two that you can get but if we do it, it's always to enhance the squad.
"If you bring somebody in, they take time to settle but the next minute it's March and he's not kicked his backside. So it's tough to get the right people in.”
As for outgoings, the club’s policy remains the same: “As long as it benefits the club, we’re not going to stand in someone's way. We never have done. We shake people's hands and thank them for what they've done. There's no-one that's untouchable.
“You look at the best players in the world; Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe.They've all moved. You'd have probably said they wouldn't have but they did.”
