PHIL Brown is ready to put his personal ambitions on hold and commit his long-term future to Bolton Wanderers.

The Whites' assistant manager - Sam Allardyce's right hand man for the last five years - is negotiating a new contract after telling his Reebok bosses he is keen to stay on in his present role.

Brown ran Steve Cotterill close in the race for the Burnley job during the summer and was linked with the manager's job at Preston before Billy Davies was appointed to succeed Craig Brown, who was sacked last month.

But he says he had no contact with North End because he was focusing on securing his future with Wanderers.

"I had an interview for the Burnley job," Brown said. "I was on a short-list of three, I believe, and missed out at the final hurdle.

"But I didn't make any inroads with Preston because I'm currently in negotiations for a new contract here and, if I'm saying to the board and to Sam Allardyce in particular that I am interested in leaving the club, how can I concentrate on negotiations here."

The former full-back, who had six years with Wanderers before ending his playing career at Blackpool, where he worked as assistant to Allardyce, returned to Bolton as first team coach under Colin Todd in 1996.

He became caretaker manager after Todd left in September 1999 then, on Allardyce's appointment the following month, he was promoted to assistant manager. He has made no secret of his ambitions to manage in his own right but he told Wanderers World: "I've pledged myself to the club for 14 years and I'm willing to do that again for the foreseeable future.

"Sam knows I still want to manage but I'm not going to trawl myself around other clubs, because I would only be belittling my situation here, whereas I could be maximising it with Sam."

Brown, who is among the best qualified coaches in the land, accepts that when he does decide to break into management, his lack of experience will limit his options.

"Steve (Cotterill) got the Burnley job because of his experience," he said, "and I'm not going to be able to bridge that gap until I get that experience - until somebody takes a chance on Phil Brown."