Scotland boss Steve Clarke has revealed he was passed over for the Celtic job when Ronny Deila got the Parkhead nod.
The former Chelsea defender's stock is at an all-time high after he followed up taking Kilmarnock into third place by returning the national team to a major tournament.
Clarke was touted as a potential replacement for Neil Lennon at Celtic but is focused on taking Scotland to Euro 2020 as they move to announce Eddie Howe.
But the 57-year-old has revealed that he was close to agreeing a move to Glasgow's east end in the summer of 2014 after he'd left West Brom.
Clarke told the Scottish Sun: "At the start of that summer, I was quite confident I’d come out the other side in a job of some kind.
“I met Dermot Desmond at his place in London and we had a good chat. I was interviewed by Brighton at around the same time.
“I had two really good interviews at two really good clubs and ended up runner-up in both.
"Celtic appointed Ronny Deila and Sami Hyypia got the Brighton job.
"So it was a little lesson for me not to be too confident about getting a job in future.
“It’s nice to be wanted, it’s nice to be invited for interviews but it’s not always certain a job is going to result.
“A few months later I went to Reading. The job didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, but I made the most of it then moved on.”
