Ex-England defender Sol Campbell is set to be interviewed by Ipswich Town for the vacant manager’s job, reports the Telegraph.
The 43-year-old – who was capped 73 times by the Three Lions and played for both Tottenham and Arsenal – has reportedly been recommended by David Pleat. Spurs’ former director of football worked with Campbell in the past and is acting as one of Blues owner Marcus Evans’ many football advisors.
An outspoken character, Campbell has limited coaching experience, pursued a role in politics leading up to the 2016 election and recently claimed he was ‘one of the greatest minds in football’ when overlooked for the Oxford United job.
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Campbell, who was pictured speaking to Blues managing director Ian Milne during Town’s 4-1 defeat at Fulham on January 2, said: “Maybe it was a lack of experience, things like that, but it’s a full circle. Experience? How do I get experience? Well, I need a job to get experience.
“I don’t want to go too low that it’s a struggle, and I don’t want to go too low that I’m under someone and thinking ‘what am I doing here?’ I would rather be managing a club myself.
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“I’m confident and it’s not like it’s rocket science to run a football club, especially when you get to that level. If you’re intelligent enough and a quick learner you will learn pretty soon, within two or three games, what the team needs, training-wise, to survive in that league, get better in that league, to get in the play-offs or even win the league.”
All 72 clubs in the Football League have agreed to follow a voluntary ‘Rooney Rule’ in an attempt to increase the number of coaches and managers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
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Every club should now interview at least one BAME candidate for vacant managerial or first-team coaching jobs.
The code of conduct — named after Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL franchise — came into force on January 1 and progress will be assessed in the summer of 2019, when the EFL may take further action if too few coaches from the relevant backgrounds have been appointed.
Former Burton, QPR and Northampton boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was pictured watching Town at Brentford following the announcement of Mick McCarthy’s departure.
Speaking in his first on-camera interview as Town owner this week, Evans said: “I am not going to pre-judge a manager. They could be young, they could be older, they could be experienced at winning promotion to the Premier League or not.
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“But overall I want to find someone that buys into the club’s plans. It is going to take some time and I expect to make an appointment towards the end of May or early in June.”
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