Terry Connor has so far prove ill-equipped for the Wolves job

Not in an outright racist way, he claims. It is just that people are subconsciously less likely to give a black manager a decent chance to succeed in a management position.

What evidence Holt has to make these assertions is unclear. If it is based on the experiences of other black managers then he is, frankly, wrong. Look at the two managers who for most of the season have been flying the flag for black managers in England.

Chris Hughton has taken Birmingham to sixth in the Championship, having previously won the same competition with Newcastle and taken them to relative safety in the Premier League. The fact that he was relieved of his duties at St. James’ Park spoke more of his lack of experience at the top level and therefore the inherent danger that the club would go straight back down. A year later and no one can question that decision.

Another Chris – Powell – of Charlton,  was given the job at The Valley despite no managerial experience (a solitary game as Leicester City caretaker manager doesn’t count). Powell started brilliantly, winning his first four matches, but then endured a horror run, going 11 matches without a win. By Mr Holt’s reckoning, this ought to have been sufficient time for Powell to be out of a job. As it was, with a good board behind him, the Charlton manager has proved to be an unmitigated success.  Those in football always earmarked Powell as a future manager and he is proving them right.

Both Hughton and Powell have proved to be managerial successes because they are good at what they do. Terry Connor has so far proved to be thoroughly inadequate. That is not to say that he might not turn it around. He hasn’t lost his job yet after all. But regardless of his future, there is no inherent racism among chairmen, owners, or for that matter fans, that dismisses the ability of a black manager.

Of course there have been other examples of black managers who have had mixed results. Paul Ince had a fine record in the lower leagues, but it was felt that he couldn’t cut it at Blackburn in the Premier League. Critics will ask how managers are supposed to gain the necessary experience if they are dismissed at the first sign of crisis, but that is not an issue for clubs that are desperate to maintain their status. Ask Neil Warnock if his dismissal was to do with race. His chairman didn’t think he could keep QPR in the Premier League. Rightly or wrongly, it was a business decision.

Like Warnock, white managers have hardly been immune to the quick fire chop over the years. One only has to think back to another Charlton example for possibly the worst manager in top flight history. When Les Reed was appointed following Iain Dowie’s sacking, he came with a reputation as an excellent coach. This didn’t transfer to management as he won only one of his matches during his six weeks in charge, including a defeat to League Two Wycombe in the Carling Cup. Reed was, frankly, incapable.

David Platt was someone of whom bright things were expected as a manager, but two disastrous roles – relegating Sampdoria and managing Nottingham Forest to Division One mediocrity – displayed that he just wasn’t up to the task.  Simple as that. He is now ably assisting Roberto Mancini at Manchester City.

In the same way that there have been successful black managers, there have been unsuccessful white ones. It is not a race issue. It is a quality issue. The lack of black managers in football does need to be addressed, but where is the sense in employing a black manager, and continuing to do so, regardless of his suitability for the job?  It wouldn’t happen in your local Tesco, so it shouldn’t happen at your club.

If Terry Connor is sacked by Wolves, it will because he wasn’t good enough for the job. His appointment in the first place ought to be questioned, given the glaring lack of experience.  He inherited a poor squad, with no evidence that he would achieve better results than the man he replaced, Mick McCarthy.  If Steve Bruce, the one man who supposedly wanted the Wolves job, had got it and gone on the run Connor had, people would have called for his head.  As it is, Bruce must be sitting back delighted, gleefully unemployed.