John Collins yesterday dampened media speculation that he is about to replace Lawrie Sanchez at Fulham by revealing to The Times that he has not had any contact with his former club about a return to Craven Cottage as manager.

The former Scotland player was at the centre of feverish rumours stating that he is ready to join the Barclays Premier League club just 24 hours after he resigned as Hibernian manager after blaming the Edinburgh club for failing to back his ambition by expanding his player budget.

Bookmakers installed Collins as favourite at 4-1 on to succeed Sanchez, after the former Northern Ireland manager was sacked after just eight months in charge of the London club, where Collins spent three years as a player. Fulham are in the relegation zone, in eighteenth place in the Premier League.

Some reports claimed that Collins was in London yesterday. In fact, he was in Edinburgh, attending a funeral for the mother of his friend, Gordon Marshall, the former Celtic and Kilmarnock goalkeeper. It was only when Collins returned home in the afternoon,that he became aware of Sanchez’s fate and the runaway speculation.

“I can categorically state that I have not spoken with Fulham,” Collins exclusively told The Times. “It is just an unbelievable coincidence that I have left my job at the same time that Lawrie has left Fulham. But that is all it is. The reports are all wrong.”

Collins played for Fulham between 2000 and 2003 before retiring. Hibernian was his first managerial post, giving up a life in retirement in Monaco – whom he also played for – to return to Scotland. The 39-year-old has been linked with the vacant post as Scotland’s national manager, but insisted he has not been approached by the SFA.

“All I want to do is take a break and enjoy some time with my family,” Collins said. “My decision to leave Hibernian has nothing to do with what happens with Scotland or Fulham. I just decided that enough was enough and there was no investment in the current squad. I will see if there are any interesting offers that come up in the future but I have other business interests to pursue.”

Martin Jol, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, and Steve McClaren, the former England head coach, are among the early front-runners to succeed Sanchez.