Lee Johnson, the former manager of Oldham Athletic, Sunderland, Hibernian and Bristol City, has warned that young British coaches are being priced out of football management, with the cost of qualifications reaching £100,000 and foreign candidates increasingly preferred for top jobs.

Speaking on The Sports Agents podcast, the 42-year-old, who has been out of work since Fleetwood Town sacked him in 2023, revealed he is considering abandoning the English system altogether and joining a foreign football association to revive his career.

“It’s tough. I think it’s getting tougher as well,” Johnson said. “There’s that old adage, isn’t there? Great game, bad industry. And I understand why people say that. You know, it becomes very political and it’s tough. It’s a battle out there.”

The former midfielder, who became the Football League’s youngest manager when appointed at Oldham aged 29, cited the prohibitive cost of coaching badges as a major barrier, with Pro License qualifications costing between £50,000 and £75,000. “I’ve got a friend that’s got every single qualification - Youth Award all the way through to Pro License - it cost him over £100,000. And you know, he wouldn’t get a sniff,” Johnson revealed.

His comments follow Plymouth Argyle and West Bromwich Albion both recruiting managers from overseas in the past week, a trend Johnson believes reflects the superior reputation of continental coaches. “If you look at the reputation of the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Germans, at this moment in time, it’s a lot better than English coaches,” he noted, adding that British coaches must be “braver” in seeking opportunities abroad.

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