Liam Rosenior believes you have prejudices. Pre-conceived ideas about people you don’t really know.

He thinks the same of me. And certainly of himself.

But it is nothing to do with racism. And not, he fervently hopes, a reason why he should face any undue barriers on the way to fulfilling his long-held ambition of becoming a top football manager.

Rosenior, pictured, whose dad Leroy was boss of Torquay and Brentford, has just the next step towards his end goal by starting a UEFA Pro Licence course.

He knows the stats about how few Black And Minority Ethnic bosses there are in the game.

Seagulls manager Chris Hughton is one of very few currently in work.

And he has his own ideas as to why that is – and why it need not deter him.

The Albion right-back told The Argus: “I have always believed that, if you are proficient enough and you have confidence in what you do, people will see it.

“Look at what the manager here has achieved in his career.

“He is a fantastic role model because he has come through a generation before this, when it was even harder to break down those barriers.

The Argus:

“You see the success he has had, not just at this club but at other clubs. It inspires me.

“I know that is strange for a player to say about a manager but what he stands for as a person, there is not a better role model for me to work under in the world. That is why it is a great thing he has done so well.

“Every single person on the planet has prejudice about certain people.

“It doesn’t make them racist, it doesn’t make them a bad person. I certainly do, I’m sure you do in your own way.

“When my dad was playing and when the manager here was playing, the general prejudice against a black player was he was quick, he was a great athlete but he couldn’t think for himself.

“I think that was the generalisation about a group of people “When you make that generalisation about that group of people, you are not going to see them as coaches or managers or decision-makers.

“I think that is one of the key reasons why you don’t have black managers.

“But it’s a two-way thing. How many black players are being inspired to be coaches? It is not pointing the finger. It’s a two-way thing.

“Every football club wants the best coach. It doesn’t matter the colour of skin, they want the best coach for their club.

“Hopefully one day I can be somebody’s best possible coach for their club, irrespective of colour of my skin or where I’ve come from.”

Which explains why Rosenior found himself in a classroom in Belfast before, back on Hove Lawns, they had not even finished clearing up from Albion’s monumental promotion party.

The timing, in that respect, could have been better. But you have to do these courses when a spot becomes available and there is no time like the present.

In the bigger scheme of things, the timing is perfect. The chance to do his 600 hours of study in between opportunities to learn from Hughton is ideal.

Rosenior said: “I want to get my pro licence as soon as possible so to start it at 32 is a real bonus for me. It is a two-year course and that was just the first five days.

“It was a lot of course work, group work and lectures. I will continue to work on that while games go on so it will be a difficult workload for me but one I am prepared to do.

“The week covered every aspect of football and not just the game.

“We were also looking at players’ personality, what gets the best out of them. We looked at psycho analysis of players and staff so it was a very wide range of topics.

“Every single lecture and group activity I did, I took a lot from.

“Eddie Howe was there. Jim Lawlor, the chief scout at Manchester United, was there. It was people from the very top and it was a wonderful opportunity.”

Rosenior gave some indication as to how the course veered well away from training drills with bibs and cones.

The well-being of the would-be manager and the demands he would face around the clock were also looked at.

He said: “Because my dad was a manager, I have a good idea of what the job entails.

“A lot of it was about time-management but that is something I was already very aware of. Your phone needs to be on 24-7, don’t switch it off.

“A lot of the course was about personal development, dealing with stressful situations.

“It was how to get help and create that stress-free environment so you are not affected.

“If you look at certain coaches now, and players too, a lot have had difficult times due to mental health.

“Football is a very pressurised game and you have got to be ready to deal with those situations.

“I had already done my A Licence and my B Licence and this course is equivalent to a degree. I have wanted to go into coaching and management, and been 100% sure about that, since I was a child.

“In order to become the best coach or manager in the future, I need to start now, and I am in a great place to learn.

“I am under a great manager, in Chris Hughton, and coaching staff.

“Ultimately I want to manage at the very highest level.

“Luck comes into it. I have to be given the opportunity but I think I have the tools and skills set to be able to do that in the long term.”

He also has to be prepared. He could be studying now for a job that will have shifted in nature by the time his chance comes.

“The job has changed, 100%,” he said. “Instead of a manager who dealt with budgets, recruitment, picking the players, everything to do with the club, they have specialist staff.

“You now have different members of staff to deal with each area instead of a manager who does everything. You have the director of football model.

“Tottenham have done it really well and more and more clubs will go that way.

“Hopefully I have the skills set to be able to do both sides.”