Ex-Portsmouth and Lincoln boss Michael Appleton distances himself from Bristol City job

The ex-Pompey boss has been linked with the role after Dean Holden was sacked earlier this week following six successive Championship defeats.

According to reports, Appleton is one name on City’s radar, along with the likes of former Blues chief Paul Cook and MK Dons’ Russell Martin.

As things stand, Appleton is currently the 10/11 favourite with bookmakers Sky Bet to land the City job.

The former Preston midfielder has done a remarkable job in charge of Lincoln since succeeding Danny and Nicky Cowley in September 2019.

The Imps currently sit top of League One, having set out to clinch a berth in the top half of the table at the beginning of the season.

And Appleton insisted he wants to 'finish the job' at Sincil Bank and get Lincoln promoted to the Championship rather than jump ship to Ashton Gate.

He told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: ‘All of a sudden a job becomes available and obviously I get linked to it, I think this is football, this is what happens.

‘I suppose people are getting a little bit more excited because of the success that we’ve had this year.

‘The reality is we’ve got 19 more games left and the focus is on trying to finish the job off that we’ve started this year.

‘We’ve put ourselves in a great position and we want to try and stay there as long as we possibly can.

‘Talk about other clubs at this moment in time for me, I just have a little wry smile about it and let people get excited but my focus is Wigan and Lincoln City.’

Cook was installed as favourite with Sky Bet for the Bristol City job after Holden's departure.

Pompey's 2017 League Two title-winning boss has been out of work since July when he resigned from Wigan.

Cook's been linked to several jobs this season, including Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff, Sunderland and Salford.

He's expressed his desire to return to management in the Championship on several occasions.