Former Blues star Kieron Dyer has backed the Rooney Rule to address the current lack of opportunities for black coaches in English football.
The Rooney Rule started in the NFL in the US before being adopted by the EFL 2016/17 - but not yet the Premier League - and is a policy which requires clubs to interview at least one candidate from a BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] background, although only when there is a shortlist of interviewees.
At present, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo is the only BAME manager in the top flight, while there are just five working in the EFL.
Speaking about issues relating to race and racism and football at length in The Kick Off podcast, Dyer, 41, says he has changed his view of the Rooney Rule since speaking out against it in 2014.
"Talking about racism in football, I remember when the Rooney Rule was coming into England I did an interview along with Titus Bramble with a reporter and I said ‘I don’t want a job because of the colour of my skin, I want to [get it] because I earnt the job’ and that I didn’t believe in this Rooney Rule,” the ex-Blues and Newcastle midfielder said.
"And I must have had about six or seven black players going mental at me, ringing me up going ‘You don’t know, blah-de-blah’ and I’m thinking ‘What are you talking about?’.
"Darren Lewis, the black reporter from the Mirror, he wrote a scathing report, absolutely hammering us as well.
"And then as I’m trying to get coaching roles and I see the lack of opportunities for black people, it’s a massive problem in this country.
"This [Black Lives Matter] movement is big, the last time I saw a movement like this was the Me Too movement with women.”
Asked whether he now feels there is a need for the Rooney Rule here, Dyer, who left his job as Town’s U18s coach in August last year to further his coaching experience as he works towards his ultimate aim of becoming a first-team manager, continued: "I think so, but the Rooney Rule has been in place for a while [in the EFL] but they can get around it.
"The FA, when they invited us black coaches to go for observation, I thought ‘You know what, it’s all a bollocks PR scheme - "Look at what we’re doing for the black coaches out there”’.
"But at least Gareth Southgate has now taken Chris Powell on full-time as one of his coaching staff.
"I couldn’t believe that when I turned up with the England U19s two-thirds of the England U19s squad were black players, I couldn’t believe how many black players there were.
"And then I looked around all the staff, and there was not one black member of staff. I’m just thinking it doesn’t add up at all.”
The 33-times capped England international added: "But I think with this movement now, we’ve had Kick It Out but, like I said, something feels different now and this movement now, the protests all around the world, I just think now that there is going to be a change.”