Stunned Rino Gattuso shut down speculation linking him with a move to Rangers as manager.
The former Ibrox player faced questions in his Hadjuk Split press conference over whether he could return to Glasgow.
But the Italian wasted little time in quashing the "gossip" after being taken aback by the suggestion as he insisted his focus remains on club football in Croatia and the upcoming match against Istra 1961.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Gattuso said: “There’s nothing about me going to Rangers, only Hajduk is on my mind.
"It’s just gossip. My only priority is Istra. My only wish is to stay here and achieve our goals.”
The speculation comes after Philippe Clement came under pressure at Rangers following a sticky patch of form.
Read more:
Rangers had lost to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen in close congestion in the Scottish Premiership and are nine points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the table.
Clement has since led Rangers to the Premier Sports Cup final - where they will face Celtic next month - and earned a 1-1 draw with Olympiacos in the Europa League.
Meanwhile, Ally McCoist has suggested Steven Gerrard would be welcomed back as Rangers manager in the future.
"He would be welcomed back," McCoist said of Gerrard. "He won the title in his time at Rangers and he would be welcomed back.
"But I have to tell you Jeff [Stelling] the problems at Rangers go far greater than the manager at this moment in time and a lot deeper. I think they need to get things sorted at the top level before anything else.
"It works its way down if things aren't right at the top. No full-time chairman, director of football or chief executive. There is none of that happening at this moment in time and that has to happen. I don't care what anyone says, it must have an effect on the pitch if things are not good off it.
"But I have to tell you Jeff [Stelling] the problems at Rangers go far greater than the manager at this moment in time and a lot deeper. I think they need to get things sorted at the top level before anything else.
"It works its way down if things aren't right at the top. No full-time chairman, director of football or chief executive. There is none of that happening at this moment in time and that has to happen. I don't care what anyone says, it must have an effect on the pitch if things are not good off it.
"So in answer your question, would he be welcomed back? I think he would, yeah. But he clearly has his work cut out over there [Saudi] at this moment in time."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel