STEVE Cotterill has no interest in becoming Swindon Town's next manager despite being contacted by the club over the County Ground vacancy, the Adver understands.

The 52-year-old had been approached by Town with a view to taking over the role following the departure of head coach Luke Williams earlier this month, but is understood to not to be considering a position at League Two level.

Cotterill turned down the offer to continue as assistant to manager Harry Redknapp at Championship club Birmingham City earlier this week, due to his desire to return to management in his own right.

He and Paul Groves were drafted in as first-team assistants by Redknapp, who was appointed temporary boss following the resignation of Gianfranco Zola last month.

Redknapp won two of his three games in charge to guide the Blues to safety and signed a one-year deal last Friday to become permanent boss, but Cotterill opted to leave St Andrew's.

Cotterill's managerial career has spanned 22 years and his former clubs include Cheltenham Town, Burnley, Portsmouth and Nottingham Forest, while he steered Bristol City to automatic promotion to the Championship in 2015.

Other career achievements include taking Cheltenham - the town of his birth - into the Football League for the first time in 1999, winning the Division Three play-offs with the Robins in 2002 and guiding Notts County to the League Two title in 2010.

Cotterill said of his decision to leave the Blues: "It was a very difficult decision. I have given it a lot of thought.

"But I have decided to turn down the club's offer of being assistant manager.

"The club made me a good offer and my decision was solely based on being a number two, whereas really I have been a manager for a long time in my own right.

"Harry Redknapp asked me to come in and help for three weeks and I believe that's what I firmly did."

Cotterill's is the latest name to be crossed off the list of possible candidates for the Town job, with the identity of the new manager no nearer to being revealed despite chairman Lee Power's comments that he hoped to have someone in place by the end of this week.

Mansfield rejected a formal approach from Power to talk to their manager Steve Evans earlier this week, with the 54-year-old subsequently distancing himself from any link to the post.

Patrick Thistle boss Alan Archibald who, like Cotterill, has been high up the bookmakers' lists for the Town role, said he would consider any offer although the Adver understand that no official approach has been made by the Wiltshire club.

Sources close to former Town player Adi Viveash also indicated to the Adver that he was not interested in the job at the present time, following his departure from Chelsea's youth coaching structure.

Gary Bowyer has been priced as low as 6-1 for the role, despite guiding Blackpool to the League Two play-off final later this month after a two-legged victory over Luton Town.