Sam Elliott: Former Premier League stars need to earn their stripes, Rooney Rule or not!

THE Rooney Rule is a wholly worthwhile policy, but there seems to be an issue this side of the Atlantic where former professionals are undermining it with a misguided sense of entitlement.

If you're not familiar, don't worry, it's not a campaign to get poor Wayne some time on the field again. The NFL in the States has been under orders for a few years now to interview minority candidates for senior positions within American football operational jobs. Mainly, coaching.

Last summer, the Football League here announced there are plans to introduce our own version in the future. Make no mistake, this initiative is not geared towards offering black managers a leg-up on the ladder. It's more about getting equality on shortlists. A foot in the door, if you like.

If there truly is a racist undercurrent running through our game, then this would at least bring diversity to interview. Those chairmen stuck in the stoneage will be forced to hear out the minority managers and take them on face value.

It's gone quiet, but the idea of having our own version of the Rooney Rule is still being discussed behind closed doors. Whether it's needed is up for debate, but would it hurt? Few could argue against it.

Yet what sets the whole thing back is former pros such as Dwight Yorke citing race issues in management because Aston Villa didn't want to hear what he had to say.

If you missed his interview last week, the former Manchester United striker – retired almost ten years now – claimed the colour of his skin was holding him back from working at a top club, and that being black was a leading factor why he didn't make the final few to present their case to the Villa Park board.

Privilege

The reality of the situation, sadly for Dwight, is blindingly obvious, not because of bigotry. It's because since leaving Sunderland, he hasn't ‘managed' a game of football. He is manufacturing an issue. Sol Campbell's sense of self worth is even worse.

“I may have to go abroad,” the 71-cap former England defender complained years ago (he still hasn't bothered). “There are no opportunities for me here, not until attitudes change.”

Pick up the phone to me Sol, I'll happily pass on the number for someone with influence at a  club. Campbell, like Yorke, hasn't selected a team, signed a player, dealt delicately with a full-back having a family crisis or learned how to cope with a dressing room and the people in it.

Villa were in a mess. Simply, they didn't want to run the risk of employing a totally untested boss who just happened to play for them the best part of 20 years ago when they had Steve Bruce – who did what they need doing with Hull City just six months ago – waiting in the wings. So why waste their time?

Fair play to Yorke, he has at least taken his badges. The privilege of having a wonderful career in the middle of the Premier League boom is that you can afford the thousands of pounds it needs to get qualified. Most can't.

Yorke has been asked why he didn't cut his teeth in the lower leagues, like other former United stars Paul Ince, at Macclesfield, and Teddy , at Stevenage.

His response? He doesn't know enough about the other end of the Football League, or, presumably, the National League.

Well learn then. Learn how to manage, learn how to control players and learn how to win football matches. Earn your stripes and pay your dues.

It's not your prerogative to have a top job handed to you simply because you played for a top club. Come to the National League and get your hands dirty whilst allowing a club to enjoy the kick-backs a former star would bring.

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