Watford boss Marco Silva insists he has not been approached by Everton over their vacant managerial post.
The Portuguese, who takes his side to Goodison Park on Sunday, is reported to be on Everton's shortlist to replace Ronald Koeman after he was sacked last month.
Silva has impressed during his stint in the Premier League, first at Hull during the second half of last season, and then during his short spell at Vicarage Road this term, too.
Everton, who are winless from their last eight matches, will be keen to act quickly, but Silva said he had not been in contact with anyone from the Merseyside club.
“Nobody has approached me and I am staying focused on the next match,” the 40-year-old said.
“We need to respect our club, our opponent and our sole focus is to prepare our players for the match on Sunday, and do the best we can to win.
“They will play at home. They are strong and they want to change the situation they are in. But regarding these rumours, now is not the moment to talk about them.”
Everton have lost their last five matches to slide into the relegation places, and were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday night following a 3-0 defeat at Lyon.
Caretaker manager David Unsworth has revealed he is treating Sunday's showdown at Goodison Park like a cup final as he bids to prove he has what it takes to be handed the Everton job on a permanent basis.
Watford have won three games on the road this season — the same number they managed under Walter Mazzarri during the whole of last season — but have a poor record at Everton.
Indeed the Hornets have picked up just one point from their last 10 visits to Goodison. Silva, however, is keen to turn that unwanted statistic on its head.
“It’s our goal to win,” Silva added. “Of course those numbers are not good, and we will try to change the situation.
“It’s one more good thing to talk with the players to change. We changed some things in the last few months and we will try to do the same on Sunday.
“When you are in the bottom three it’s never easy to play and for us it’s the same. We prepare in the same way always and did what we normally do after a match. We started work on our opponent and it’s our way. We don’t change anything.”
Silva will be without suspended Troy Deeney, who begins his three-match suspension, while Roberto Pereyra, Sebastian Prodl, and Younes Kaboul are all still sidelined.
