Eddie Newton, the former Chelsea midfielder and coach, has been appointed head coach at Trabzonspor on a permanent basis. The 48-year-old left the Stamford Bridge coaching staff to become assistant at the Turkish club in February and last month took caretaker charge following the departure of Huseyin Cimsir.
Newton subsequently oversaw the side winning the Turkish Cup with a 2-0 victory over Alanyaspor on Wednesday. And a statement from Trabzonspor on Sunday said: “Our board of directors has decided to continue in the new season with Eddie Newton as coach. We wish Newton success in his post.”
It is a first management role for Newton, who had stints as an assistant at Chelsea to Robert Di Matteo when they won the Champions League and FA Cup in 2012, and Guus Hiddink. Newton has said he felt there was “more opportunity” as a black manager in Turkey than in his homeland.
He told Sky Sports on Friday: “I’ve been trying to become a number one for a while and just didn’t see it happening. The fact is that I’ve moved to another country and it’s taken six months to become caretaker manager so … I’ve been working in football all my life so that’s why I felt there was more opportunity over here, so I had to take the chance basically.”
He added: “Look up and down the [English] league. The figures don’t lie. Not my opinion or anyone’s opinion. Just look at the facts. There’s very few black managers in the league, therefore the figures don’t lie.”