West Brom target Alex Neil insists 'sole attention' is on Preston North End

The Baggies are known admirers of Neil, who has steered Preston into the play-off race this season despite operating with one of the lowest budgets in the Championship.

But Neil told Radio 5 Live he was focused on North End.

"When you're a manager of any football club, speculation is rife all the time,” he said.

“The amount of times in press conferences we've been linked with players and some of them I've never even heard of.

"I would take speculation with a pinch of salt – my sole attention is on Preston North End, how well we've been doing and trying to continue that."

Despite distancing himself from the Albion job, Neil did describe the Baggies as a big club.

"I talk about not having a lot of pressure,” he said. “I mean in comparison to bigger clubs.

"We've looked at the likes of West Brom for instance, who have lost their manager when they were sitting fourth in the table.

“I think that is an example of the sort of pressure that some of these big clubs have."

Neil took Norwich City up to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2015.

The 37-year-old has been Preston boss since July 2017 and currently sits outside the top six on goal difference only.

However, he was disappointed with the attendance at Deepdale on Saturday, when fewer than 12,000 home fans turned up.

"I will be honest, I was quite disappointed with the crowd," he told the Lancashire Evening Post. "I didn't think it was as big as it should have been.

"I think with how well this team is doing and what they have delivered – they have eight wins in 12 games – we deserve a few more."