Hughton lays bare the flaw in Rooney Rule

CHRIS HUGHTON backed the Rooney Rule but then, almost in the next breath, revealed its failings. Hughton said he would happily adopt the process — the inclusion of a BAME candidate in every interview list for managerial and coaching staff — but then discussed the appointment of his assistant manager Paul Trollope in November 2016. ‘ Paul was someone who worked with me before, so was a natural when I needed someone at short notice,’ he admitted. Trollope replaced Colin Calderwood, who left Brighton to join Aston Villa midway through their promotion season. Villa announced Calderwood on November 21, Brighton’s next game was against Fulham on November 26. Time was obviously of the essence, so the thoroughly decent Hughton did not do what might be termed the right thing, he did the practical thing; which happened to be right for him in a pressured environment. He phoned a friend. Trollope is white: but he was known to Hughton, available and capable. One imagines he considered those last three qualities considerably more important than the first. And there is the Rooney Rule’s flaw. Even the well-intentioned Hughton did not have time to indulge his principles in the hurly-burly of the season. For all his fine words, faced with a similar situation again and with Brighton’s Premier League status at stake, can he truly guarantee he would act differently? One compromise would be to apply the Rooney Rule in the close season — maybe April 1 to August 10, to prevent the system being abused — but even that would not solve all complications from the Premier League’s point of view. If Manchester United, or any elite club, were to need a manager this summer, how many black managers have the necessary Premier League experience — let alone Champions League or high end transfer market nous — to qualify for an interview? Maybe one. Hughton at Brighton. But even he would be a long shot. So he is going to spend an awful lot of time driving up and down motorways to attend interviews for jobs he probably isn’t going to get. That is why the Premier League see this as a bottom-up process. If more black managers and coaches get opportunities in League One and Two, then the best will progress to the Championship and from there to the Premier League. With sufficient options, that is the point at which a Premier League Rooney Rule would work — ironically, the precise moment at which it would no longer be needed.