Linfield boss David Healy has dismissed speculation linking him with the vacant managerial position at Grimsby Town.
The League Two side are on the lookout for a new manager after sacking former boss Paul Hurst on 28 October following a 1-0 defeat to Doncaster Rovers.
Grimsby are hovering perilously close to the relegation zone in 21st place.
“Absolutely not, not for me,” said Healy, when asked if there was any truth to speculation that he may leave Linfield to take over at the Mariners.
The Linfield manager was speaking to BBC Sport NI after guiding his side to a 2-1 BetMcLean Cup last-16 win over fierce derby rivals Glentoran at the Oval on Tuesday night.
“Again, surprising. Again my sole focus coming into the game was leading a team and a club that I love dearly, which have given me so many opportunities,” explained Healy, who has been at the helm of the Irish League’s most successful club since October 2015.
“There’s going to be speculation. On the good side of that, if there is speculation from outside, somewhere else, on a player it means he’s doing well, or a coach or a manager, it means we must be doing something right.”
“My sole focus now after this game is to assess where we are with the squad and getting ready for Larne [a top-two Irish Premiership encounter] on Saturday.”
Two goals from Joel Cooper, one in either half, proved enough for Linfield to continue the defence of the NI League Cup trophy they won last season, Jay Donnelly grabbing a late consolation for their opponents.
“The main aim in a cup competition is always to progress and we did that, but I thought our performance should have been better,” reflected Healy after the match in east Belfast.
“There were large spells of the game when we were on top but we should have been better in possession. We found a way to win, which the players have made a habit of recently, but going forward we want the performances to improve.
“I thought we were in cruise control in a game we didn’t really play well in and then all of a sudden we let them back into the game but that’s something we’ll look at, assess, analyse and try and be better the next time we play Glentoran.”
“We’ll need them to improve as we have big games coming up, important games.
“We were down to the bare bones. We’ll assess the squad and see where we are ahead of a big game against Larne on Saturday.”
Linfield have won the Irish Premiership title five times during Healy’s tenure, including four consecutive Gibson Cup successes between 2019 and 2022, but Larne halted that sequence last season when they were crowned Irish League champions for the first time in their history.
Healy’s side go into Saturday’s encounter between the sides at Windsor Park with an eight-point lead over the champions.