Steve Clarke was mystified by hype he was Hibs' choice

Steve Clarke last night confirmed he had been in the running to become Hibs manager earlier this month, but insisted he remains baffled as to how he became the bookmakers' short-price favourite for the post.

The former Chelsea and West Ham United No 2 has revealed he was spoken to by Easter Road chairman Rod Petrie but says discussions went no further.

Rumours quickly spread across the capital that Clarke was in line to become the club's fifth manager in just four years following the departure of Hughes and betting was eventually suspended after Jose Mourinho's one-time trusted assistant was made 1/3 odds-on favourite.

However, Clarke has insisted his short telephone conversation with Petrie was his only involvement with the capital outfit.

"I've found that since I've been out of work I get linked with a lot of jobs," Clarke told STV.

"I did have a brief telephone discussion with the Hibs chairman. It didn't go any further than that, that was as far as it went.

"There was no big hidden agenda. How I ended up favourite with the bookmakers, I don't know. You'd have to ask someone from Edinburgh about that.

"There was no further progress from a ten-minute telephone conversation."

Reports have suggested that Clarke also this week turned down the chance to replace Calderwood as assistant to Chris Hughton at Newcastle United.

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And the 47-year-old, who has also been No 2 to Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari, firmly believes it is time for him to move into frontline management.

He added: "I've done a little bit of scouting, I've done the youth set-up, I've done the assistant manager (and been] the first team coach. I think the next logical step is try and get a number-one position where the buck stops with me.

"I've enjoyed my time out of the game but it's now time to get back in the game. If anybody is looking for a manager, give me a call."