The Scot, who takes his Preston side to The Hawthorns on Saturday, is currently the odds-on favourite to succeed Darren Moore.

"I'm manager of Preston and people will talk as much as they want to talk," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I'm here to do a job and my focus is on Saturday's game."

Albion have been under the caretaker charge of first-team coach James Shan since sacking Moore in March.

He won his first three games but successive defeats by Millwall and Bristol City have all but ended their automatic promotion hopes.

Shan does not think the former Hamilton and Norwich boss, who led the Canaries to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2015, will be affected by the rumours.

"I haven't read too much into who's been speculated. You always have speculation around a club of this stature. The club are going to attract some big names and some good names," he told BBC WM.

"Over the years, Alex has done a fantastic job.

"We're in a professional industry and you tackle one game at a time. Alex has done a very good job there and they're within a shout of getting in and around the play-offs. His focus, no doubt, will be the best possible job he can do for Preston."

Albion are fourth in the Championship table, while Preston have slipped eight points off the play-offs following the midweek round of fixtures.