Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink: "If I am not the right person, I don't want that job. But also, don't get me in because I am black and it ticks a box, just to make them look good. I have had that feeling before."
Tuesday 20 October 2020 16:53, UK
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink discussed the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule and the lack of opportunity for black managers and players.
The former Chelsea and Leeds striker has previously managed at Royal Antwerp, Burton, Northampton and QPR but has questioned if the Rooney Rule is the best way to encourage more black players into coaching.
Hasselbaink also highlighted how black managers and former players are not afforded the same opportunities as their white counterparts.
He told Sky Sports: "It is difficult to have that kind of rule. I want to become a manager because a chairman or an owner of a club believes I am the right person for that job.
"If I am not the right person, I don't want that job. But also, don't get me in because I am black and it ticks a box, just to make them look good. I have had that feeling before.
"These owners have eight to 10 black players playing for them so why not put a black manager in the process without the Rooney Rule? It is not easy to get in front of people and get the opportunity.
"I am not attacking the person and I like to see him where he is now but if you look at Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard, in their first jobs what they get. That is an opportunity that has been given to them.
"They should take it. Don't get me wrong. They should take it. But those opportunities are just not being given to a Sol Campbell or somebody else who is black and wants to be a manager.
"There are a lot who have their qualifications. I was told, 'Jimmy, go to League Two, get yourself in there and show what you can do'. I did that. I was lucky enough to get a great chairman at Burton [winning the title] and I loved it. But those opportunities are really small.
"Other black managers have got that same problem.
"I think we all need to be a little bit more open-minded. Maybe the Rooney Rule is the right idea for now just to get black managers through the door so that owners can see that in an interview they are actually alright to speak to.
"Maybe they don't get the job but it puts something in their head for the next time and so on until it becomes the normality.
"Everyone needs to chip in because there are so many black footballers who can give back in that area but I know a lot of black footballers don't want to go down that route because they don't believe they will get the opportunity. That's a pity."
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