Sol Campbell: Macclesfield Town boss confident of managerial credentials

New manager Sol Campbell has told Macclesfield that in him they have "an international footballer" who has been "one of the best players in the world".

Campbell watched from the stands as the Silkmen beat Exeter later that day for only their third league win this term.

"Macclesfield fans will probably say 'what's going on here?'" he said when asked if his appointment was a gamble.

"You've got an international footballer who has been one of the best footballers in the world coming to your club, I think there's a nice mutual balance there."

As a player, Campbell won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups with Arsenal and was named in the 2002 World Cup all-star team after helping England to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

He begins his managerial career four years after describing the lack of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) managers in English football as a "sad indictment" of the game.

Campbell's appointment makes him the eighth BAME manager in England's top four divisions, while he also spent time coaching with England's Under-21 side earlier this month as part of a Football Association initiative to address the issue of under-representation of BAME coaches.

Asked if he could see improvements being made, he said: "I'm not going to go down that road and state the obvious.

"I've got the opportunity and I've got to take it with both hands, work my socks off and see how far I can go.

"That's the thing for me. You want the situation to become normal, so you don't see black or white, you just see a football manager."

'Get the basics right'

The Silkmen have won their past two League Two games and are now just four points adrift of safety in the fourth tier.

Campbell's first game in charge will be their Checkatrade Trophy second-round tie away at Newcastle United Under-21s on Tuesday, 4 December.

"I took my first training session today [Thursday] after half a game against Exeter which was quite nice, watching from the stands, and I took some notes to take into the dressing room at half-time," he added.

"The guys are good. They've got skill and tenacity. Not having a manager for such a long time has hampered them a little bit as well.

"For me we've got to get basics right, score right, cross right. The difference between the Premier League and League Two is just margins, decision-making and things like that."