SOL FULFILS DREAM TO BE BOSS
GIVEN their league position and the state of Macclesfield’s finances, there may come a time when Sol Campbell regrets asking to be “judged on results”.
Should he fail to steer the Silkmen away from relegation, the fact his skin is darker or lighter than the next man will not matter one bit. But its thickness will.
Campbell, 44, yesterday refused to stoke suggestions his appointment on the lowest possible rung of the Football League ladder – Macclesfield are bottom of League Two and four points from safety – was evidence of systemic discrimination.
But the difficulties the ex-England defender has had in trying to force his way into management since hanging up his boots in 2011 – revealing he had applied for “up to 15” jobs – told its own story.
Miles
Campbell said: “I have been abroad, I have been at home. I have even gone 10 hours away for an interview. I have done a lot of miles.
“I probably should be an ambassador for BA, with the amount of air miles I have done. “In between that I have gone to clubs, gone to Italian clubs, in and out of English clubs and spent three or four days watching training and speaking to the manager.
“If you haven’t got a job, you have to keep on looking, keep on probing. In the end I just want to become a manager. “Forget whatever colour you are – that’s the way it should be really. I’m just thankful I’ve got the opportunity here.”
Campbell admitted he has been partially responsible for taking his time to return to football. His playing career effectively ended at Portsmouth in 2009 but limped on via the infamous one-match spell at Notts County under Sven Goran Eriksson to Newcastle in 2010-11. Since then he flirted with the idea of taking up acting, stood as a Conservative candidate in the London Mayoral elections in 2016 and has had a family.
Yet throughout he maintained the magnet that was football was calling to varying degrees. He added: “You can walk away from football but it kept coming back.
“There have been times when I’ve thought, ‘Is it going to happen?’. I’m not going to lie. You just don’t know if it is going to happen.
“This is my first full-time job. I am honoured to be here and I will work my socks off and use my experience. I know football inside-out, how to manage people and communicate.
“It’s a great place for me to start. I know Macclesfield fans will probably think, ‘What’s going on here?’.
“But you have an international footballer who has been one of the best players in the world coming to your club. I think there’s a nice mutual balance there.”
Whatever the views of boardrooms elsewhere, Macclesfield’s has shown a willingness to give black managers a chance after hiring Paul Ince in 2006 and Keith Alexander two years later.
Campbell delivered the half-time team talk in Macclesfield’s 1-0 win at Exeter on Tuesday and will grace the dugout for the first time next Tuesday against Newcastle Under-21s in the EFL Trophy.
He took his first training session yesterday before his unveiling and said: “For me, the difference between the Premier League and League Two is margins.
“It’s not a shock for me to be here. I’ve started as a street footballer. The finances are slightly different but you get on with it.
“But it’s about getting me on the ladder and doing a good job.”