Steve Evans’ application to become Celtic’s new manager has been turned down, a delighted Jon Sotnick revealed to impsTALK today.

‘Steve applied to become the next Celtic manager but was turned down,’ Sotnick said. ‘He’s now ready to fulfil the next six years of his contract and take us to League One and beyond.’

Evans sends job applications to Celtic Park on a daily basis and following the confirmation of Martin O’Neill’s departure, officials were quick to thank him for his interest.

‘There was really no point inviting Steve to an interview because we knew so much about him already from his last 5,523 resumes,’ a Celtic spokesman said. ‘In the end, however, our choice was a straight fight between a short, outspoken, diminutive Scotsman with an horrendous record in the transfer market and Gordon Strachan. We obviously chose Strachan.’

A distraught Evans said: ‘Strachan has nothing on me. So he writes a tactics column for the Guardian - so what? Does my own work on Pilgrims Patter count for nothing? Did he unearth Stephen Boyack, or Paul Gascoigne?’

Boston General Manager John Blackwell is believed to have been interested in an administrative vacancy at the Glasgow club but missed yesterday’s deadline for applications and will now remain with the Pilgrims.