Trabzonspor of Turkey’s newly confirmed Nigerian-born head coach and manager, Eddie Ikem Newton has admitted that he relishes being named the Turkish Super Lig club’s ‘number one’ person in their technical crew ahead of next season, megasportsarena.com reports.
The former Chelsea of England midfielder and assistant coach added that he felt very honoured and privileged after he was officially named as Trabzonspor’s substantive handler, following his ability to lead them to a conquest of the Turkish Cup in only his second game as caretaker boss.
Newton, who spent eight years as a back-up coach at Chelsea and joined the Trabzon-based team as an assistant coach only in February this year, was named as their interim boss after the club mutually agreed to part company with their immediate past manager, Huseyin Cimsir.
However the Nigerian-born gaffer, who has since 2003 been married to Zeliha Kılıc, a lady that is of Turkish origin and has a Swedish passport, made history in winning the FA Cup against all-expectations, such that the club’s top brass reckoned it was only suitable for him to get the job in full and they made that confirmation in a press release last weekend.
Trabzonspor disclosed on their official website: “Our Board of Directors has taken the decision to continue as the Coach in the new season with Eddie Newton, who is a coach in our A team. We wish Newton success in his post.”
It is a major career breakthrough for the 48-year-old Newton, who became famous as a player when he scored for Chelsea in the 1997 English FA Cup final against Middlesbrough, after which he handled various levels of teams at Stamford Bridge for 14 years and was an assistant under Roberto di Matteo when The Blues won the UEFA Champions League in 2012.
Having won two games in temporary charge of Trabzonspor, Newton has been rewarded for his feat of helping the side get their first trophy in ten years, by defeating Alanyaspor 2-0 in the Turkish Cup final last Wednesday, much to the delight of the former midfielder-turned-gaffer, who admitted that he always wanted to be ‘number one’ in charge of any team’s technical crew.
Newton told Sky Sports: “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.
“I’ve been working in football all my life. I felt there was more opportunity over here; so I had to take the chance. Look up and down the league. Not my opinion or anyone’s opinion, just look at the facts. There are very few black managers in the league, therefore the numbers don’t lie.”
