Celtic coach makes Leeds United kidnap joke as Whites step up search to replace Jesse Marsch

Leeds United have been linked with a move to bring Australian coach Postecoglou to Elland Road, although may experience similar problems luring the Celtic boss as they have in their pursuit of Andoni Iraola and Arne Slot from their posts at Rayo Vallecano and Feyenoord, respectively.

Postecoglou’s Celtic are currently top of the Scottish Premiership and the Greek-born coach is highly regarded at Parkhead having reclaimed the title and secured a League Cup triumph during his first season in charge.

Celtic are nine points clear of fierce rivals and closest title challengers Rangers after 25 matches this season, losing just once and drawing on one occasion.

Bhoys assistant John Kennedy joked in a press conference on Friday that he had tied his boss to a chair in a bid to keep him in Glasgow, despite interest south of the border.

"We’ve just tied him to the chair upstairs and got a couple of security on his door,” Kennedy said in jest.

"There’s always speculation, I think, credit to the manager in terms of the job he’s done here. It’s a bit like players, when they come and do well, they get linked to other clubs. I think the manager’s shown himself his abilities as a manager. When you do that and you have success with that you attract attention and that’s what’s happened.

"Ultimately, there’s a lot of speculation, that’s what it is, there’s a lot of noise but I know the way he works first-hand. He’s really focused on his job here and he loves being here. He’s in the middle of building something very special so I think his mind’s purely focused on being at Celtic and doing the best he can here,” Celtic’s assistant added.

Leeds’ search for a new head coach is expected to enter a second week after Feyenoord boss Slot publicly rejected the Elland Road club’s advances, while attempts may be made to revive a deal to persuade Rayo man Iraola to swap Madrid’s suburbs for West Yorkshire.