BURNLEY caretaker manager Mike Jackson insists he has ‘no idea’ whether or not the club are set to make a formal approach for Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder.

The Clarets are looking for a new manager after Sean Dyche was surprisingly dismissed at the end of last week, ending his ten-year stint in charge at Turf Moor.

Jackson took caretaker charge of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, and will remain in charge for this evening’s home game against Southampton, but Burnley chairman Alan Pace is expected to have a more permanent appointment in place by the time his side host Wolves on Sunday.

There is ongoing speculation that that permanent boss could be Wilder, with the Boro manager having failed to rule out joining the Clarets on two separate occasions since Dyche was dismissed.

There has been no formal contact between Burnley and Boro, and senior members of the Riverside hierarchy remain confident they will not be losing their manager to Turf Moor.

Nevertheless, with the speculation refusing to disappear, Jackson has admitted he does not know how things will play out in the next few days.

“I spoke to the chairman the other day,” said Burnley’s caretaker boss. “He’s just asked me, very similar to West Ham, to prepare for this game (against Southampton). Anything that happens after that, I’m sure you’ll be the first to know.”

Wilder may make his position clearer when he conducts his pre-match press conference ahead of Boro’s weekend game with Swansea City on Friday morning.

The Boro boss failed to rule out a move to Turf Moor when he was initially asked about Dyche’s departure in the wake of Boro’s Good Friday draw at Bournemouth, and was similarly evasive when given another opportunity to clarify his position in the aftermath of Monday’s 2-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town, a result that left the Teessiders three points adrift of the play-off positions.

“Listen, I’m an emotional guy,” said Wilder. “We’ve just got beat from a footballing point of view. I’ve just got beat as manager of Middlesbrough, so I can’t stop any of that stuff (Burnley speculation), but I’m not so sure it’s the right time to ask anything like that after a really disappointing defeat from our point of view.

“I’m manager of Middlesbrough – nobody knows what’s around the corner for anything, do they? I don’t know what you want me to say or what you want me to do. You’re after me dropping my guard and saying something daft. I’m Middlesbrough manager, I’m enjoying working at Middlesbrough, but we’ve just been defeated.”