Winning is what buys you time at the Old Firm

JOHN BARNES argues he got less time than he should have as Celtic manager because he was black. ‘It’s not about Celtic, it’s not about John Barnes,’ he claims. ‘It’s about any black manager at any club is given less time than a white manager.’ Listen, the dearth of black managers in British football is an embarrassment. If or when Kilmarnock appoint Alex Dyer on a permanent basis, the Englishman will be the exception rather than the rule. And, if Barnes is correct, he’ll be given less time to get it right than predecessors such as Steve Clarke or Bobby Williamson ever did. By way of an example, the England legend cites his own time at Celtic as the case for the prosecution. Between June 10, 1999 and February 10, 2000, Barnes (right) managed Celtic for 19 games and secured a win rate of 65.52 per cent. Only Jock Stein, with 69.92 per cent, did better over the course of his tenure. In contrast, Tony Mowbray won just 51.11 per cent of his games and had a month longer in charge than Barnes. At the time, ethnic origin and colour of skin seemed less relevant to the length of tenure of Barnes and Mowbray than their catastrophic results. Mowbray’s team were thrashed 4-0 by St Mirren in Paisley. And while Barnes will forever be known as the man who lost Henrik Larsson to a broken leg in Lyon, his team returned from a winter break and dropped points at Kilmarnock in their first match back before throwing away a 2-0 lead against Hearts at home in the very next game. Three days later the wheels came off altogether when they were turfed out of the Scottish Cup by First Division Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a night of infamy. Mark Viduka famously refused to emerge for the second half after ripping off his boots and throwing them away. No one disputes that black lives matter. But, for the manager of Celtic or Rangers, nothing will ever matter more than the ability to win football games.