Management? The battle is lost before a ball is kicked
INCE: YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED ANY KIND OF SETBACK IF YOU ARE A BLACK BOSS IN ENGLAND
PAUL INCE says black managers face far more scrutiny than their white colleagues.
Around a quarter of all Premier League players identify as black or mixed-race.
However, there are currently only six non-white head coaches in the entire football league.
Ince, who was the first Britishborn black man to manage a Premier League club, believes a shake-up is needed.
The former Manchester United and England midfielder said: “Unless things have drastically changed, why would Raheem Sterling want to go into coaching?
“He’ll have enough money, so why put yourself in a situation where a club is barely going to give you eight months?
“Nobody is saying because you’re black you’ve got to be offered a manager’s job.
“But I’ve always felt we have more obstacles in front of us. And when things go wrong, you don’t get as much time.
“I feel black managers get judged the moment they get through the door. Some white managers will keep getting job, after job, after job.
“Think about the career I had as a player. But I had to go to the lowest club in League Two to get a chance to manage.
“We saw the same with Sol Campbell, who did an amazing job of keeping Macclesfield up last year.
“But then he can only get a job at Southend and they get relegated, so all of a sudden his CV doesn’t look good.”
Campbell (below) took over as boss of the Silkmen in November 2018 when they were five points adrift of safety in League Two. He kept them up on the last day of the 2018-19 campaign.
Ince, meanwhile, has managed in all four divisions, following stints with Macclesfield, MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers and Notts County. He has been out of work since leaving Blackpool in 2014.
“About two years ago, I was on the shortlist for the England Under-21 job,” he said.
“I was asked to do a four-hour presentation, but the night before I got a phone call from someone well known in the game.
“They said, ‘Paul don’t bother going down, they’ve already given the job to Aidy Boothroyd’.
“I went anyway because I wanted to enjoy the process.
“It took the full four hours. That’s always a bit hard when you know you haven’t got the job.
“Two weeks later, I get the phone call and I knew what was coming.
“They said, ‘Paul, the interview was great, but we think you’re overqualified for the U21 job and we’d like you to work on your IT skills’.”
EFL clubs are required to interview at least one BAME candidate when hiring a new manager. However, the Premier League do not have a similar policy in place.
“We had talk about a ‘Rooney Rule,’ but it was swept under the carpet,” added Ince.
“It can’t just be lip service and saying the right things this time.”