BRENDAN Flood says even Real Madrid would not be able to tempt Owen Coyle away from Turf Moor right now – but Burnley would not stand in his way if one of England’s big four came knocking in the future.

Flood has confirmed that Celtic did approach Burnley within an hour of their play-off final victory against Sheffield United last month, asking for permission to speak to Coyle.

It was later revealed that the Clarets boss, who moved to Turf Moor from St Johnstone in November 2007, had been tempted by a move to his boyhood club but he made the decision to stay and signed a new four-year deal on Thursday.

And Flood, who is Burnley’s operational director, thinks Celtic’s interest may have actually strengthened Coyle’s commitment to the Clarets.

He said: “Personally I wasn’t worried about him leaving to be honest because I speak to him virtually every day.

“He’s a loyal guy and he’s got good morals. Celtic was always going to turn his head but only for a moment, I thought.

“And it probably helped him to decide on his level of commitment in Burnley, so perversely I think it’s worked for us because I think that was the sternest test of Owen’s commitment to Burnley at an early stage in his career here.

“I think any approaches, even if Real Madrid rang up tomorrow, I don’t think he’d go!”

But Flood knows that Coyle will continue to attract interest from other clubs if he is able to prolong the Clarets’ success story, particularly in the increased spotlight of the Premier League.

He hopes that Burnley are not in that situation any time soon, but understands that they could not prevent their manager from moving on to one of England’s biggest clubs should the opportunity arise.

Asked if he would swap Coyle for any other manager in the world at the moment, he said: “No. The time may come when the top three or four teams might ask him to take a job there and we wouldn’t stand in his way if that offer came along in due course because that offer would be right for him.

“But let’s hope it’s years and years away. Nothing is forever in football, but if we can build the club over the next three of four years with Owen here as manager, I think we’ll be in a much better place for whoever in time comes in.”