Sol Campbell has turned his back on football management and said he is no longer looking for work.
The former Arsenal and Tottenham defender tried to build a career from the bench and played for crisis clubs Macclesfield and Southend between 2018 and 2020.
He has since been unable to find work and has voiced his frustrations about the lack of opportunities in the past.
And the 49-year-old said he is no longer pursuing leadership positions.
“For me it is about the possibility of failure,” he told the PA news agency at a web summit in Lisbon.
“Some of my peers had jobs that didn’t work out and then they immediately had opportunities again, they always had a lifeline.
“It’s a good position. I am not in this position, I would like to be in it, but such situations do not come to me. I would like to play football and have a chance, but this is not happening.
“You need to look at football differently and that’s what I’m going to start doing and hopefully it will work and I can help the players, just in a different way.
“I love coaching, so I’m going back to football with purpose. I had to leave, I studied at Harvard. I want to play football meaningfully. It won’t be left out.
“I’m not applying for work anymore.
“I’m happy that I’m in a different space now and one that I want to be in.”
Burnley’s Vincent Kompany is the only black manager in the Premier League and Campbell believes bosses at the country’s top clubs must do more to diversify their backroom staff.
“Football needs that diversity in terms of management but I think in some cases it has gone backwards.
“We have to understand that not everyone can be a great manager, but you need to get the opportunity or the chance to prove yourself or even show that you can do the job.
“Sometimes you get to the point where you can’t fail anymore. Sometimes you have to fail to succeed, but if you don’t have that opportunity, how can you succeed.
“There are a few managers who are gradually introducing diversity into their workforce, and that can help.
“Some senior managers know that if they could diversify their coaching staff, it would help. This is the beginning.
“They are in a strong position, they are winning and they are at great clubs.
“I think that’s how people should start thinking, it’s an easy way to get experience and get through the door. Some top managers will have to reconsider their coaching staff and mix it up a little.”