Eddie Howe issues statement amid Newcastle United and Celtic links

Howe has been heavily linked with the Newcastle United job – and he’s 6/1 to succeed head coach Steve Bruce with bookmakers.

However, the 43-year-old, also linked with the vacant managerial post at Celtic, is not planning on returning to work this season.

“There has been significant interest from a number of clubs,” said Howe’s representative. “However, talks of any deal being close are extremely premature. His plan remains to not return to management until the summer at the earliest.”

There were renewed calls for Bruce to be dismissed following relegation-threatened Newcastle’s shocking 3-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion last month. Owner Mike Ashley, however, backed the 60-year-old, who insisted after the game that he would not “walk away” from the job.

Asked about his future at the Amex Stadium Bruce said: “Well, as I’ve always said, that’s for other people to answer, but the one thing that I won’t ever do is give up on anything, as we’ve had a bad defeat,” said Bruce.

"We’ve been OK, I believe, we haven’t been sensational over the last few weeks, but we have to accept, I have to accept, the criticism that’s going to come our way and the fallout from it, because we were simply nowhere near good enough on a big occasion. We simply haven’t done enough.

"Of course, the buck stops with me.”

Howe, meanwhile, left relegated Bournemouth last summer after eight years at the club.