Mark Cooper says he will continue to “get on with the job” at Kettering – despite speculation that he is interested in being Oxford’s new manager.

Cooper takes his team to Wrexham today with rumours rife that he is one of at least half a dozen that Oxford United may want to interview after Darren Patterson was sacked earlier this week.

Cooper insists there has been no contact from the U’s and he is firmly focused on the Poppies.

“It’s always nice to be linked to big clubs and big jobs,” Cooper admitted.

“But I am contracted to Kettering and I haven’t spoken to anyone from Oxford about all this.

“The truth is we could lose three games in a row and no-one would want to know.

“I am certainly very happy doing what I am doing here at the moment and there seems little point in talking about anything like this until someone makes any contact with my chairman.

Oxford would have to pay compensation if Cooper left Kettering, and U’s director and caretaker-manager Jim Smith has said they would not pay a ‘transfer fee’.

Kettering chairman Imraan Ladak has laughed off the link between Cooper and Oxford.