Finland coach Stuart Baxter is being lined up to take the football director's post at Celtic.

The Daily Mail says the Parkhead outfit have targeted Baxter as a potential director of football to aid incoming boss Neil Lennon but have been warned of stern opposition to the move by his current employers.

The 56-year-old, born in England to a Scottish father, is the national coach of Finland and is understood to hope to continue in that role even if he lands the part-time position with Celtic.

The Finnish FA are insistent, however, that they do not want his involvement diluted in any way after previously extending his contract to cover the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

"In the autumn, we begin a series of very important qualifiers towards the European Championship finals," said chief executive Kimmo Lipponen.

"Stuart Baxter has a full-time contract with us until 2012. A part-time head coach is absolutely not an option for us."

Finnish FA spokesman Velimatti Sutela warned Celtic they would seek maximum compensation if Baxter was lured away.

"Compensation would most definitely be an issue," added Sutela.

"He has two full years left on his contract and we do not want him to leave.

"I believe the association has spoken to Stuart, but he is in South Africa for the World Cup at the moment. I have to say I am not aware of any meetings taking place between him and Celtic.

"Stuart is fully aware that he has a full-time contract with us. We need his experience to nurture Finnish football."