Gordon Strachan today stressed Celtic were a 'fantastic' club to work for after emerging as one of the favourites to take over as Sunderland manager.
The Celtic manager is just behind Sam Allardyce in the betting to replace former Parkhead midfielder Roy Keane, who resigned yesterday.
Strachan maintained his long-standing reluctance to discuss his future by refusing to field questions on Sunderland during his weekly media conference, and cut it short when a question cut too close to the bone.
Before that though, he stressed how happy he was at Celtic Park and reflected on his coaching career moments after picking up the Clydesdale Bank Manager of the Month award.
The former Coventry and Southampton boss said: 'It's a fantastic club to work for and it's a great bunch of lads. They are smashing to work with, they are receptive and want to get better.
'The facilities are fantastic as well. We are training on a magnificent pitch, considering the weather has been that bad.'
The former Aberdeen player has had to work hard to win over a significant portion of sceptics among the Celtic support since taking over in the summer of 2005.
Winning three successive titles and repeating the unprecedented feat of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League has gone a long way to doing that.
Nevertheless, his future plans remain a hot topic of debate in Glasgow and his decision to walk out of the Southampton job months after taking them to the FA Cup final provides further intrigue.
However, the former Scotland midfielder insists he is getting stronger as a manager by remaining at Celtic.
He said: 'Throughout your football career or any job, there are crisis points where you say 'can I go on?' You pick yourself up and you go on.
'The more you get through that, the stronger you get, whether it's a football manager or any business you deal with. These things make you stronger and wiser and the longer you can stay in the game, the better you are going to become as a manager.
'You need to put a lot of work in and you need a bit of luck at times as well. But what you need as a manager is good players, and I have been fortunate to work with a lot of good players over the last 12 years.'
Strachan added: 'You are certainly tested here, that's for sure. But that is part of the deal. That's why we get looked after so well.
'I've had tests throughout my career and you have to deal with them. I'm lucky to have good players around me to help me stay where I am at 51.'
