Ange Postecoglou remained coy on his Celtic future with Tottenham now expected to step up their interest in the Australian boss.
Postecoglou has emerged as a leading candidate for the vacant managerial post at Spurs, having impressed chairman Daniel Levy and incoming chief football officer Scott Munn.
However, any serious discussions over the Tottenham job were delayed until after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, with Celtic beating Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-1 to seal a world-record eighth domestic Treble.
Standard Sport understands that Spurs are set to step up their interest in Postecoglou as a long-term successor to Antonio Conte, with Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason having been placed in temporary charge over recent months.
The 57-year-old is currently on a 12-month rolling contract in Glasgow, with reports over recent months that Celtic could offer him a bumper new long-term deal.
Postecoglou has remained notably tight-lipped on his own future since those links with Spurs first emerged, and that is no different after he became the fifth different manager to successfully guide dominant Celtic to a domestic treble.
The Hoops had already won the Scottish Premiership with a seven-point buffer to arch-rivals Rangers, whom they also beat in the League Cup final back in February. Ex-Australia coach Postecoglou has delivered five major trophies in total since leaving Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos to succeed Neil Lennon at Parkhead in 2021, including back-to-back league titles.
"I understand all that (the questions), but I am going to be a little bit selfish here, not just for myself but my family and people around me, we have all worked really hard to enjoy this moment,” he said when quizzed by BBC Scotland over his Celtic future after goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota saw off Inverness at Hampden.
"As disappointing as that may be for people, that is what I am going to do. We have worked too hard as players and managers.
"If I again start talking about things right now that aren't really important to me and those people around me, so I am just enjoying this and will do for as long as I can before people drag me away to talk about other things.”
Postecoglou added that he would now take a break from football after a relentless 2022-23 season that included the first winter World Cup in Qatar.
"It has felt like a long season, maybe because of the World Cup break,” he said. “Our performances have tailed off in the past few weeks, the lads are feeling it was well.
"I am just super proud of them and am amazed at the levels they have created. I think everyone is looking forward to a break."
Tottenham chairman Levy, also looking to recruit a new director of football this summer to succeed Fabio Paratici, has also held talks with Luis Enrique since Arne Slot confirmed he would be staying at Feyenoord, with Napoli believing that the ex-Spain and Barcelona coach would prefer to move to the Premier League than replace Luciano Spalletti as boss of the newly-crowned Serie A champions.
However, Spurs have no plans to speak to Julian Nagelsmann, who remains a free agent after being sacked by Bayern Munich in March and replaced by Thomas Tuchel. Interim head coach Mason wants the role on a full-time basis.
