Rooney Rule row: Being called a dinosaur and a racist really hurt

You have to be careful when addressing anything to do with race.

In football, as in society at large, it’s a hot-button issue and rightly so.

But because it’s so sensitive, I feel people are sometimes too quick to leap to conclusions.

I caused something of a storm on talkSPORT on Friday when I referred to ethnic minority managers as “non-whites” in a radio discussion about the so-called Rooney Rule.

It was quickly seized upon and I was called a dinosaur and even a racist.

I’ll be honest, that hurt. And not least because I was actually trying to make an INCLUSIVE point.

I said I didn’t agree with the Football League’s decision to introduce a version of the rule and I stand by that.

But it has nothing to do with racism. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I DO believe the lack of black and ethnic minority managers in our game is troubling. Of course it is.

But I DON’T think this rule will be a truly effective way to boost those numbers.

The rule means that, from the start of the 2016/17 season, every Football League club will be asked to interview at least one black-and-minority-ethnic candidate for all coaching and managerial jobs.

Given there are only five black managers out of their 72 clubs at present Chris Hughton, Chris Ramsey, Chris Powell, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Keith Curle there’s obviously an issue there.

But to solve the problem, I think we need to work much harder than the Rooney Rule would seem to suggest.

I simply don’t believe there are hundreds of outstanding black-and-ethnic-minority candidates floating around, not getting interviewed for football jobs because of their race.

Anyone who believes club owners act like that, en-masse, in this day and age is barking mad.

So while it’s all well and good legislating to hand interviews to ethnic-minority candidates, if those candidates aren’t up to the job, what good has been achieved?

Of course, some guys will be fantastic candidates, and they will be employed. But I think those guys would get their jobs even without the Rooney Rule.

The real issue is in WHY more black-and-ethnic-minority players aren’t moving into coaching and management after their playing days are done.

If they did so, I believe we’d have football with more minority managers rule or no rule.

THAT is what needs to be assessed and that’s the point I was trying to make.