Pat Nevin has claimed that Steve Clarke's contacts in football make him a strong candidate to become the next manager of Celtic.

The former West Bromwich Albion head coach is the favourite with some bookmakers to succeed Neil Lennon, after Roy Keane turned down the post on Monday.

Nevin, who played alongside Clarke with Chelsea and Scotland, believes that his former teammate's spells as assistant to the likes of Jose Mourinho and Kenny Dalglish could work in his favour.

"He worked with those managers and has great links down south," Nevin told BBC Sport. "When he did well at West Brom he had Romelu Lukaku up front, and he got him because of his links with Chelsea.

"And it may well be that's as important as anything else for Celtic at the moment, to make sure you've got those links, with not only those big names but those big clubs as well. Not just for loan players but buying and selling players as well."

Clarke has been out of work since leaving West Brom in December.