Former England international Sol Campbell has revealed that he has been turned down by several Football League clubs in the past year - including Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Preston North End and Swansea City.

The 47-year-old has past managerial experience at two clubs so far in his career, starting out at troubled Macclesfield Town in 2018 and saving them from relegation to the National League before departing in August 2019, with it later being revealed that he was owed £180,000 by the club.

Campbell then headed to Southend United of League One in October 2019 but he was unable to keep the Shrimpers from being relegated, with the season being cut short due to COVID-19.

The ex-Arsenal defender left the Essex club following their relegation and since then he has been out of work, despite applying for multiple jobs.

Campbell has opened up on his struggles at being able to find a new role, despite applying for and talking to various EFL clubs that have had vacancies open up in 2021 with some notable names in there.

“I’ve applied for England Under-21s, Bristol Rovers, Bristol City, I had a chat with Swansea, MK Dons, Doncaster, Ipswich, Preston," Campbell told FourFourTwo.

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"I love being around football and I don’t want to lose that.

"But when you’re on the sidelines, it does test that love and commitment – it’s not easy to carry on when you’re not getting interviews, and sometimes I don’t know why.

"Forget who I am and what I’ve done, just see if I can fit into your club."

The Verdict

Campbell isn't really getting a break at the moment, but he could be perhaps setting his sights too high.

Even though he wasn't helped by matters off the field at Southend, he already has a relegation on his CV and that's not going to attract Championship and top end League One clubs.

The fact he managed to save Macclesfield from relegation in 2019 is a good achievement though and proves he's got something about him as a manager, and at some point a club will no doubt take him on.

He may have to wait for some League Two vacancies to come about later on in the season but it is interesting to note that all the clubs he mentioned had the manager job up for grabs earlier in 2021 so it's not for the want of trying that Campbell isn't getting a job.