Falkirk have played down reports that the club are set to appoint Paul Hartley as their new manager.

Betting has been suspended on Hartley taking over from Peter Houston, who was sacked last month following a poor run of results, but the Championship club have denied a decision has already been made.

Hartley is believed to be one of the front-runners to replace Houston having been without a job since he was sacked by Dundee in April.

However, a spokesman for Falkirk said: "As far as we're concerned, we're still involved in the process.

"We know there have been reports outside, but it's not anything we can comment on at this moment in time.

"We're still going through the process and would be reluctant to give a timescale."