Sourced from Daily Echo article
IN PROFILE: Saints assistant boss Eric Black
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Eric Black has always been seen as a safe pair of hands to guide clubs through turbulent waters as the board decide on their next captain at the helm.
Black is the latest individual to be named in the Daily Telegraph’s investigation into alleged illicit behaviour within the English game.
The newspaper alleges that Black offered advice to an undercover reporter posing as a businesswoman on how to bribe officials at other clubs for information on players. He denies the allegations.
The Scot was appointed as assistant to Claude Puel at Southampton for the start of the new domestic season, having overseen Aston Villa’s final few matches in the Premier League at the end of last season following the departure of Remi Garde.
When Birmingham needed a caretaker following Steve Bruce’s departure for Wigan in November 2007 Black was the obvious choice, just as he would be for Sunderland a few years later, then again at Blackburn and Rotherham before a return to the top flight at Villa under Garde.
Black, who turns 53 tomorrow, was given his break at Aberdeen by Sir Alex Ferguson when still a teenager, the Lanarkshire-born forward repaying his manager’s faith with the opening goal in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Real Madrid in Gothenburg.
After leaving Pittodrie in 1986, Black moved to French club Metz, where he would spend five seasons before the Scotland international was forced into an early retirement by a back problem.
A transition into coaching seemed a natural progression, with Black taking up a role at Celtic before leaving after the departure of John Barnes in February 2000.
Black stepped into the managerial hotseat at Motherwell and then Coventry, where he would soon become accustomed to the precariousness of the job when he was sacked after just 20 games. He won nine games and drew two more before being replaced by Peter Reid.
Following his exit from the Sky Blues, Black returned to a backroom support role, eventually following Bruce to Sunderland, before spells at Ewood Park under Steve Kean, a stint with Wigan and then Rotherham, where he again stepped in as caretaker when Steve Evans left.
Black found himself thrust into the spotlight earlier this year as he presided over the closing seven matches of Villa’s top-flight campaign, and was technically the man in charge when the midlands club were officially relegated on on April 16.
Yet despite suffering six defeats and only collecting one point, the Scottish coach never ducked his media commitments or highlighted the shortcomings on and off the pitch he had been left with.
A fluent French speaker, Black provided a link for Puel as the former Monaco, Lille, Lyon and Nice manager settled into the English game at St Mary’s, with the Saints now starting to produce consistent results in both the Premier League and Europe.
Southampton executive director of football Les Reed said at the time: “Eric Black has an excellent pedigree as a coach and vast experience domestically and internationally.”
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