Darren Moore confident Liam Rosenior will make swift return to management

By Jamie Gardner, Press Association Chief Sports Reporter

Darren Moore has backed Liam Rosenior to make a swift return after his dismissal by Chelsea and believes “more and more opportunities” will arise for black coaches in the English game.

The west London club sacked the 41-year-old on Wednesday after a poor run of results put their hopes of Champions League qualification at risk.

Rosenior became the first black English manager to be permanently appointed by one of England’s ‘Big Six’ when he succeeded Enzo Maresca in January.

Moore, a trailblazer himself after he became the first man of Jamaican descent to manage in the Premier League when he took the reins at West Brom eight years ago, now works with the Premier League on its No Room For Racism action plan.

A five-year update on the plan’s progress published on Thursday found 85 out of 100 individuals supported by the league’s two inclusive coaching programmes were now employed full-time in professional football.

Moore spoke highly of Rosenior and hopes a time will come when the pool of managers is so diverse that an individual’s ethnicity ceases to be a talking point at all.

“I’m absolutely sure in the ability that Liam’s got,” Moore told the Press Association.

“He’s showcased what a fantastic young manager he is – he’s just lost his job at Chelsea. That’s it, and we move on.

“It’s always sad to see any manager lose their job, let alone Liam. But what I am sure of is that he’s a top, top man. He’s a great manager, he’s a great head coach, and I’m sure he’ll be back in the game really soon.”

Addressing the broader issue of under-representation of black and ethnically diverse coaches in the game, Moore added: “More and more opportunities will come.

“Hopefully we’re pushing towards the moment where no matter what coach of any diverse background is given or loses a job, we’re just talking about it as freely as ‘another manager’s lost their job or gained a job within the structure the football’ (without their ethnicity being referenced).”

Osei Sankofa, the former Charlton defender who is now head of coaching pathways at the Premier League, felt Rosenior’s appointment could not be understated.

“It’s always good to see people get opportunities, which Liam has now had at the very highest level,” Sankofa said.

“He clearly has a lot to offer and we’re sure he will be back and be better for the experience next time around, and I’m sure he will also have been a role model to many aspiring coaches who can now see that there is an opportunity at the very highest level.

“We like to think he could be a source of inspiration as well.”