VINCENT Pericard hopes his old team-mate Edgar Davids will be successful at Barnet and help increase the number of black managers coaching in the Football League.
The former Portsmouth and Stoke City striker, who played with Davids during the peak years of the Dutchman’s career at Juventus, hung up his boots last year to concentrate on his other interests in the game.
The former France U21 international works with the inclusion campaign Kick It Out and is also CEO of an agency helping players harness their full potential called Elite Welfare Management.
He revealed he will be keeping an eye on Barnet’s progress under Davids and hopes the former Champions League winner can achieve promotion with the Bees.
“I will definitely be following Barnet’s results closer,” said Pericard. “But the sad thing is I know how it works in English football and he has to deliver the results otherwise he may not stay as a manager for long.
“I will keep my fingers crossed that he will be successful and once again become another black manager in the Football League.”
Pericard moved to Juventus as a teenager from French club Saint-Étienne and the Cameroon-born striker revealed the admiration he had for Davids when he arrived in Turin.
“I can say that the first time I played with Edgar Davids, I could see he was a truly amazing player,” said Pericard.
“It was fascinating to see the skills that he had. His energy and aggression on the field was simply wow!
“One day after I had trained with the first team, I was doing so well that at the end of the session, Edgar came up to me and said ‘Vincent you were just so good today, you were just toying with everyone.’
“I was really grateful for that because it was a massive compliment coming from someone like Edgar.”
Pericard was surprised by Davids’ move into a managerial hot-seat but is keen to see how the Dutchman progresses as he prepares to start a season as manager for the very first time.
“I would love to meet up with him again and reminisce about our time at Juventus and see how he’s progressing and adapting to being a manager.
“I’m really pleased to see him now as a manager. He is a great guy with a lot of passion for football and a lot of knowledge about the game.
“I definitely didn’t see him becoming a manager and when I found out he had got into management I was shocked.
“I could always see that he loved football but entering management is the last thing I thought he would do. It’s very interesting for me and that’s why I want to find out how he’s doing with it.”
Pericard was speaking at the launch event for Kick It Out's Guidance Groups initiative ahead of the organisation's 'season of action' which begins next week.
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