BURNLEY chairman Barry Kilby has issued a "hands off" warning to West Bromwich Albion as the odds on Steve Cotterill leaving for the Hawthorns were slashed.

Cotterill was last night further backed by punters making him the 2/1 favourite to replace Bryan Robson.

And sources in the Midlands claim Cotterill is high up on their wanted list and that an approach could be made to Burnley within a matter of days.

But Kilby said he has heard nothing so far, and he would not welcome any inquiries.

He said: "Absolutely no approach has been made at all. We have had no contact from anybody and as far as I'm concerned the story is a non-event.

"The last time I spoke to Steve he was very happy and thinking about going top of the league on Saturday."

Cotterill has been previously linked with the vacant manager's job at Leicester City following the sacking of Craig Levein.

And his name was also in the frame when Wolves parted company with Glenn Hoddle in the summer.

It was thought the speculation surrounding his future had been put to bed when Cotterill put pen to paper on a new deal earlier this year, tying him to Turf Moor until 2010.

But Kilby admitted it was difficult to stop clubs taking an interest in him.

He added: "I think he's a bright young manager, who has built a good reputation for himself, and so when anything comes up his name is always linked with it.

"He's doing well at Burnley and we might even go top of the league on Saturday.

"But he's our manager. He's just signed a new contract, and as far as I'm concerned, he'll be our manager for some time to come."

Although Cotterill is the bookies favourite to take over, other potential managers include assistant boss Nigel Pearson, former Rangers manager Alex McLeish and former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri, while ex-England boss Sven Goran Eriksson's name was also mentioned.