FORMER IRELAND BOSS Brian Kerr doesn’t know anything about a new job as Chris Hughton’s Newcastle United assistant manager.

The Dubliner – who currently coaches European minnows the Faroe Islands – is quoted this morning in the Irish Independent as saying that he’s never discussed the possibility of a move to St James Park.

He told David Kelly:

I don’t know where it came from. Myself and Chris are good friends.

We discuss things about football, but mainly because they have a Faroese player and we talk about how things are getting on for him.

But we’ve never discussed at any stage the possibility of me coming in and having a role at the club.

[A Newcastle job] is not something that I’ve thought about.  I’m busy with the job I’m trying to do with the Faroes.

I don’t know how this all started up. When I first heard about it, I thought somebody was joking about it.

I am friendly with Chris – but Chris has hundreds of friends in the game who would probably be more qualified than me.

The Irish Daily Star also explain that the former St Patrick’s Athletic supremo does not see himself as an assistant to anyone.  Mark McCadden quotes Kerr as saying:

Of course, it would be interesting to work at a club with so much potential like Newcastle. But it hasn’t been something that has come up and I haven’t discussed it with Chris.

Last week it was reported that Hughton was at loggerheads with the club’s chiefs who wanted Magpies legend Peter Beardsley installed as assistant coach – while Kerr was apparently the manager’s preference.

In the meantime, he’ll continue his recruitment of exiled Ireland internationals.