Former Premier League manager Chris Hughton says new Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior is a role model for aspiring coaches from under-represented backgrounds.
Hughton worked with Rosenior during his time in charge of the Seagulls and has remained in contact with the 41-year-old since.
Rosenior's Chelsea appointment makes him the Blues' second black manager. There have been just 12 black managers – not including those holding temporary caretaker roles – in the Premier League since its inception 34 years ago.
"I do know, and I'm very, very aware of what it means," Hughton told BBC Sport.
"We are still in a football environment that the amount of black and ethnic coaches and managers in the game is probably less than what it was 10 years ago.
"So to have a black manager or head coach at such a big club means an awful lot to, I think, society and particularly to young and upcoming coaches.
"There's no doubt he's a role model. He's a role model for, apart from the fact that he's got the job, but how he's conducting himself and his pathway and everything that goes with it.
"He's very much so to inspiring young black and ethnic coaches in the game that are finding the pathway hard, so no doubt is an inspiration.
"No doubt it's a big moment. He's only the second black manager at Chelsea, the first black English manager at Chelsea.
"So there's no doubt it's a big for me. It's a big, significant, moment. For Liam he's got bigger things on his mind because ultimately it won't be judged on his colour, he will be judged on getting results.
"Liam knows that, but Liam would also be aware of what it means to a community, what it means to race relations and what it means to any amount of black and ethnic coaches that are trying to have a significant pathway in the game."
Rosenior, who has signed a five-and-a-half-year deal, was appointed by Strasbourg in July 2024 and guided the French club to seventh in Ligue 1 last season, securing European football for the first time in eight years.
"He's a very intelligent coach," added Hughton. "He didn't have to take this job. You only take a job when you're confident of taking a job.
"So there is no doubt that in each step that Liam has taken there's more pressure that comes with the role. Going from Brighton's Under-21s to being an assistant at Derby, to being a manager at Hull, to being the manager of Strasbourg and now Chelsea. So this is a big step up. There's no doubt about that one.
"But he's very confident in his in his own ability. He has had success and you gauge success in different ways. It's not about winning trophies. It's about producing good football and successful football, which is what he has done in his pathway."
