Being Premier League’s only black manager ‘a privilege’ – Nuno

Nuno Espirito Santo says it is a “privilege” and he is “honoured” to be the only black manager currently in charge of a Premier League team.

The West Ham boss, who rejects the idea that his position could be a burden, is also confident that it will not be long before the situation changes.

“I think there are a lot of black managers with talent that can soon be involved in the Premier League.

“Many [black coaches] are going to have good seasons, they’re going to be available,” the Portuguese told BBC Sport Africa, admitting he feels an element of “luck” has led to his success.

While Nuno says it is “always necessary to call people’s attention” to the under-representation of coaches from ethnic minorities, and sensible to use proactive selection criteria such as the English Football League’s ‘Rooney rule’, he does not believe discrimination plays a role in recruitment for the top jobs.

“The difference between us is not something that clubs look at. I don’t believe it,” the 51-year-old said.

“It’s by your talent, it’s by your hard work and by luck that we have a project that you did well, then people look to hire.”

That is not a view shared by everyone.

Only 11 black coaches have been appointed as either a permanent or caretaker manager during the Premier League era.

One of them, Chris Hughton, believes having visible figureheads like Nuno and Port Vale boss Darren Moore, the only black manager among the EFL’s 72 clubs, remains “hugely important”.

“Instead of getting better, it’s getting worse,” the former Newcastle, Norwich and Brighton boss told BBC Sport Africa at the Best of Africa (BoA) Awards, where Nuno was recognised for his achievements.

“What I do see is that the underbelly is getting better. There are more black and ethnic coaches involved at under-21 level, at academy level, so I think there’s certainly an improvement in that aspect.

“But I think it’s in the more visible areas that we want to see more growth.”

One of the people tasked with improving the situation is Deji Davies, a director at Brentford and chair of the Football Association’s Inclusion Advisory Board, who admits there is “a lot of work to do”.

“Nearly 50% of Premier League players are black, so it’s synonymous with our people, with our culture,” he said at the BoA ceremony.

“Whilst the numbers are great on the pitch, the minute we move away the numbers aren’t as good. Until very recently I was the only black board director in the Premier League.

“The organisations involved in football need to be focused very acutely on this issue.”

The FA, which previously launched its Football Leadership Diversity Code in 2020, told BBC Sport Africa that through the introduction of mandatory reporting it is “working with the professional game to improve diverse representation”, while it has also put in place a number of programmes to diversify “the coaching and leadership workforces”.

While Nuno represented Portugal at youth level, the former goalkeeper was born in Sao Tome and Principe, Africa’s second-smallest country located off the coast of Gabon in the Gulf of Guinea.

“Life was beautiful,” he said, recollecting his early days growing up on the island of Sao Tome.

“I was living near to the sea, [my] family live close to each other. I miss being there.

“It makes you feel humble when you visit Sao Tome. You see how poor people are, that people are struggling and that’s why we are privileged to have everything that we want.”

Having left Sao Tome before his eighth birthday, he would go on to forge a playing career with the likes of Porto, Deportivo La Coruna and Dynamo Moscow.

And the Portuguese believes it will not be long before the first African coach is appointed in the English top flight.

“I had the privilege to have some African coaches doing some weeks of training and observation with me in various clubs, and I was impressed by the quality of their work,” he revealed.

“I was impressed by the knowledge that they already acquired. They come here to England to try and learn from us but they can teach us a lot of good things, because African football is very special in terms of freedom, in terms of talent, in terms of individuality.”

Having beaten Newcastle to gain his first win since taking charge of West Ham, Nuno’s priority is to help the Hammers avoid relegation this season.

But he does hold a long-term aim to improve football in his native Sao Tome and Principe.

“Someday I’ll go back, try to influence managers, try to give some of my experience and to share my knowledge.”

Given Cape Verde’s qualification for next year’s World Cup, could he ever be tempted to try to repeat the trick by coaching his own Atlantic island nation?

List of black Premier League managers:

Terry Connor – Wolverhampton Wanderers

Nuno Espirito Santo – Wolves, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, West Ham United

Ruud Gullit – Chelsea, Newcastle United

Chris Hughton – Tottenham (caretaker), Newcastle, Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion

Paul Ince – Blackburn Rovers

Vincent Kompany – Burnley

Darren Moore – West Bromwich Albion

Hayden Mullins – Watford (caretaker)

Chris Ramsey – Queens Park Rangers

Jean Tigana – Fulham