Albion boss Chris Hughton has called for a form of the ‘Rooney Rule’ to be introduced in English football to boost the number of managers and coaches from ethnic minorities.

He is fed up with stakeholders in the game paying lip service to the issue and says actions speak louder than words.

The Rooney Rule in American Football requires NFL teams to interview at least one black or ethnic minority candidate for senior coaching roles.

Hughton is the only BME manager in the top three divisions of English football and there are only two in League Two, Carlisle’s Keith Curle and Grimsby’s Marcus Bignot.

Former shadow sports minister Chi Onwurah has called on the Government to assess the merits of the UK adopting a version of the Rooney Rule.

Ex-England defender Paul Elliott, former FA chairman Greg Dyke and players’ union official Bobby Barnes are in favour of it being introduced and Hughton is demanding change as well.

He told The Argus: “I think there are absolute merits to have some form of it. We sit here and speak about the same things month by month, year by year – that there is a massive difference in the amount of players from ethnic minorities compared to going into coaching and management, particularly management at the top level.

“We continually hear from all the stakeholders there is a real thirst and enthusiasm for change but there still generally hasn’t been too much change.

“The more that it is spoken about the better but we can speak and speak and speak. Sometimes actions have to be put in place.

“I would be all for some form of the Rooney Rule. It’s very much down to the stakeholders to put their supposed enthusiasm into action.”

Dyke, together with fellow former FA executives David Bernstein, David Davies, Alex Horne and David Triesman, has claimed the governing body is held back by “elderly white men”. They want legislation to reform it.