FORMER Liverpool striker and England internationalist Emile Heskey has argued that white coaches are given better coaching opportunities than their BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnicity) counterparts.

In an interview with The Times, Heskey revealed his belief that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and Chelsea boss Frank Lampard - who started his management career at Derby County - may not have been given high-profile jobs in their first management roles if they were black.

Heskey said: "I couldn’t tell you why black people had to be bottom-feeders and then others can go wherever and get a job.

Glasgow Times:

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"One hundred per cent it would be easier [for Gerrard and Lampard]. They are going to get those jobs. I can only point towards skin colours.

"I can also point towards medals. Sol [Campbell] has got more than Stevie [Heskey is mistaken here - Gerrard won nine trophies with Liverpool, while Campbell won seven in his career. However, Campbell won two league titles while Gerrard never did].

"Ashley Cole’s got more than any of them. England’s best player for that era. Ash Cole is being given a chance to get on that ladder with Chelsea under-15s."

Former Arsenal and Tottenham defender Sol Campbell was given his first management role at Macclesfield in November 2018 and successfully guided the club to 22nd place in England's League Two and, crucially, out of the relegation zone. Campbell has often spoke of the diffculties he had in finding a job higher up the football pyramid.

Rangers were the first club to employ Gerrard as a first-team manager, but the 39-year-old also spent a season in charge of Liverpool's under-19s before moving to Glasgow.

Heskey added that while BAME coaches are asked to go and compete coaching courses before they are offered a management role, their white contemporaries - such as England manager Gareth Southgate - face no such hurdles.

Glasgow Times:

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He said: "Everyone just says, go and get your badges. Well, we’ve got an England manager who was in the Premier League [with Middlesbrough] with no badges.

"We have players who have the worst reputations, in the sense of beating people up, and they are still in a job, and I can’t even get on the ladder. I am only guessing that there is a perception that black coaches are probably not up for the job."

Heskey was presumably referring to Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton, who has consistently been a controversial figure in English football and has twice been convicted of violent offences.