Ex-Portsmouth man Kevin Harper: It took me 40 applications to get an interview because of ingrained racism in football

There was no response from the second missive fired off either, as the former Pompey winger hoped for the chance to sell his ample coaching credentials garnered from a career playing under some of the biggest names in British football.

Then the same thing happened again, as he continued his search for position as a well-qualified and hard-working black coach in Scotland. And again. And again, And again.

A career in the game which took him to the Premier League, nearly 400 senior appearances and a Uefa A coaching badge was of little consequence. It didn’t even merit a reply from the clubs who turned to men with lesser credentials.

In the end it took 40 applications for the 44-year-old to get an interview with Albion Rovers, a side rooted to the foot of Scotland’s basement division.

Once sat at the table, Harper sealed the job and turned a seven-point gap to safety into an eight point cushion with the lowest budget in the division.

It’s a laudable achievement arriving at the end of a dispiriting chapter in his life - one the Scot has no doubt is down to systemic racism in British football.

‘I think it’s ingrained racism,’ said the man who became the first black Scottish manager in 15 years when he got the Cliftonhill post. ‘I really think it is.

‘If that was in any other walk of life there would be an outcry, but because it’s football it’s accepted for some reason.

‘I think the movement that’s happening at this present moment is well overdue.

‘You don’t see black or ethnic people coaching. You don’t see them in the boardroom.

‘That (Kilmarnock manager) Alex Dyer is the only black or ethnic manager in Scotland is a disgrace in my opinion. He’s the only one in the Scottish Premier League for about 17 years.

‘When you have 30 per cent of black football players in England and four or five black managers - with one in the Premier League - there has to be an issue.’

Harper’s role, which he left in May, has seen him thrust into the spotlight as a figurehead for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in football.

When discussing the challenges he's faced, he continually returns to what he believes is a misconception BAME coaches are looking for preferential treatment.

‘People tend to see and think black and ethnic people are saying they want a job because of their colour,’ Harper added in a recent episode of Pompey Talk you can listen to HERE.

‘At no point would I want a job because of my colour. What I do want is an equal opportunity to get that job. That doesn’t happen. That’s a fact.

‘I use the analogy that if no one knew Kevin Harper and no one knew Zinedine Zidane and we put our CVs in for the Portsmouth job, Zinedine Zidane should get that job because he’s got a better CV than Kevin Harper.

‘You can’t tell me that all black managers aren’t good enough, though, because we don’t know if they are good enough or not - we don’t get the opportunity to show if we are good enough or not.

‘There’s managers who fail and fail and fail and get job after job after job. We know it’s not a level playing field.

‘I will reiterate because I’m black I don’t deserve a job.

‘I deserve a job if my CV goes in and I’m a candidate they want to interview. Then I will press it home so when they walk out of that interview they know I’m the best person for the job.

‘All I’m looking for and I’m sure any black or ethnic manager is looking for is an opportunity - an equal opportunity to be on a level playing field trying to get a job. That’s it.’

Harper freely admits his time out of football took him to dark places which almost broke his resolve and desire to remain in a game which has dominated his life.

The Groundhog Day of seeing those whose credentials didn’t meet his own paraded as he was continually overlooked very nearly took his talent from the game forever.

He said: ‘If it wasn’t for my wife and kids I wouldn’t be interested in management.

'During that time I became really despondent getting knockback after knockback. I wasn’t even getting the decency of an email back to say I wasn’t successful, not even a generic email.

‘I got one interview and was looking at people who other clubs took who’d had a lesser playing career than me and not even coached. That was really disappointing and was the biggest thing for me.

‘When you look at the managers I’d worked with they were some of the best managers in Britain. I worked under Harry Redknapp, Tony Pulis, Nigel Worthington, Alex Miller, Jim Smith,and Steve McLaren. You must have an opportunity.

‘There were people with no coaching experience getting the job, so why wasn’t I even getting an interview? At the end of the day if I have the best CV out of 10 applicants, surely I deserve an interview.

‘That’s what we want. That’s what black and ethnic coaches want: that opportunity to show what we can do - not because we’re black, but because we’re the best people for the job.’

After leaving Albion Rovers, Harper finds himself thrown back into the hunt for a role in the game once more. In a life where he’s felt he needed to work harder than the rest because of the colour of his skin, it remains a daunting challenge.

But, as a father of three, the man who made 128 Pompey appearances across five years has optimism his children won’t be bound by the same chains he’s carried.

‘My hope with my kids is that there is a level playing field when they grow up,’ Harper admitted, when discussing their futures.

‘My son is saying he wants to play football and has taken it up. He wants to do a bit in the park and learn something. I’ll do that for him because he’s a kid and he has to enjoy it first and foremost.

‘For me, I hope there’s a level playing field across society by the time he gets older - not just in football.

‘Football is a huge, huge platform where we can make a difference. It’s a sport I’ve loved and been involved in for over 30 years. But I’ve always had to work harder than other people purely because of my colour to get to where I got.

‘It’s okay for people to say if you want something you have to knock doors and knock doors. Yes you do, but if those doors are shut and people aren’t taking chances then you get despondent.

‘You can’t bash through a door and say I want to be your manager. You have to knock on doors and hope it opens and someone takes a chance.

‘It took me 40 doors to knock before I got a chance, I hope it doesn’t take 40 more before I get another chance.’

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