Forget skin colour, says new boss Sol

SOL CAMPBELL says football needs to reach a point where it is ‘normal’ to see a black manager after finally getting his break at Macclesfield Town.

The former England defender, 44, retired from playing six years ago and has only now been given a chance in management — at the Football League’s bottom club.

He is only the eighth BAME (British, black, Asian and minority ethnic) manager in the top four divisions — with Kevin Harper the only black manager in Scotland’s senior game, at Albion Rovers, who are also bottom of League Two.

When asked if English football was moving in the right direction, Campbell said: ‘It’s all about opportunities. I’ve got an opportunity and I’ll take it with both hands.

‘You want the situation to become normal — you don’t start seeing black and white, you see a football manager. In the end, I just want to become a manager, forget whatever colour you are.’

Paul Ince said this week that it was sad Campbell had to go in at the bottom, while players of a similar stature in Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard landed jobs at Derby County and Rangers.

But Campbell was adamant he is happy to finally have his chance.

‘You just don’t know if it is going to happen,’ he said. ‘I’ve got lots of friends in the same boat. It was the right place, the right time and the right club.’

Even by the standards of a footballer who once had ambitions to be the Mayor of London, yesterday’s unveiling will rank among the more surreal staging posts of his career.

‘Thrilled to bits,’ said Campbell. ‘A long time coming.’

He has a monstrous challenge on his hands at a club who couldn’t even offer him a biscuit at interview.

But, if Macclesfield weren’t so precariously placed, Campbell must wonder if he would have got this opportunity at all.

Ince made that point for him earlier this week, asking how an Arsenal Invincible and a man of 73 England caps and six major trophies needed to go to the foot of League Two for work.

Yesterday, Campbell was simply happy to have the chance at all after a search that crossed Europe and peaked with an assistant’s job at Trinidad and Tobago.

When Ince’s remarks were put to him, he said: ‘You have to start somewhere. I am prepared to start anywhere. The opportunity came up and there was no messing about. You’ve got to take your opportunities and I felt it was the right time. Not taking this and maybe waiting another year — I couldn’t see the point.

‘If this scenario had popped up five years ago, then, who knows, I might have looked at it a totally different way. But for me now, where I am in life and wanting to get going, it was perfect for me.

‘It’s the passion. Management is the next best thing to playing. I don’t want to do commentating. You can walk away from football but it keeps coming back.

‘There have been times when I’ve thought: “Is it going to happen?” I’ve been abroad. I have even gone ten hours away for an interview. I have done a lot of miles. I should be an ambassador for BA with the amount of air miles I’ve done.

‘In between that, I’ve gone to Italian clubs, in and out of English clubs and spent three or four days watching training and speaking to the manager.’

When asked if it was a gamble for Macclesfield to entrust their safety to an untested boss, Campbell said: ‘I know Macclesfield fans will probably think: “What’s going on here?” but you’ve got an international footballer who has been one of the best players in the world coming to your club. There’s a nice mutual balance there.’