Sol Campbell follows England team-mates into management

The 44-year-old has signed an 18-month deal with the League Two strugglers, who are seven points adrift of safety.

Campbell is not the first former Three Lion to make the step up to management and, here, Press Association Sport looks at a few others.

Gareth Southgate

Southgate was handed his first managerial role at Middlesbrough in June 2006 and kept Boro in the top flight before he was sacked following their relegation three years later. He went on to manage England Under-21s from August 2013, with the team qualifying impressively for the European Under-21 Championship, but they were knocked out in the group stages. Southgate then impressed as caretaker manager for the senior England side following Sam Allardyce’s brief reign and landed the job on a permanent basis. He won the hearts of the nation earlier this summer, leading England to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia, before guiding the Three Lions to the Nations League Finals.

Phil Neville

The 41-year-old’s appointment as England women’s head coach in January drew criticism due to his lack of managerial experience. Despite coaching at Manchester United and Valencia, prior to getting the job, Neville had only ever been in charge of a team once – for Salford City, the club he co-owns – and he
had no experience in the women’s game. He also had to apologise after sexist tweets he sent several years earlier came to light.

Gary Neville

The former Manchester United right-back was added to the England senior team coaching staff by manager Roy Hodgson in May 2012. He was part of the backroom team for Euro 2012 and worked as Hodgson’s assistant at the 2014 World Cup and subsequent qualifying campaign for the 2016 European Championships. Eyebrows were raised in December 2015 when he got the head coach’s job at Valencia, despite not being fluent in Spanish. His disastrous spell in charge of the LaLiga club lasted just four months and included a 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

Alan Shearer

The Premier League’s top goal-scorer turned down a coaching role with England in 2006 and similar jobs at former club Newcastle in the following years. It was a surprise when the Magpies offered him the manager’s job in April 2009 for the remaining eight matches of the season. Shearer was unable to keep Newcastle in the Premier League and they were relegated on the final day of the season after a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

Steven Gerrard

The ex-Liverpool midfielder took on his first management role at Rangers in May. The 38-year-old had spent a brief spell coaching the Liverpool Under-18s and was thought to have had offers in England, but opted to move north of the border. He has transformed Rangers into a more resilient side and, like he did as a player, had success in Europe.

Frank Lampard

The former Chelsea midfielder was appointed at Derby in May, replacing Gary Rowett who left for Championship rivals Stoke. Enlisting the help of Jody Morris and Shay Given, Lampard put his faith in youth and brought in the likes of Mason Mount and Harry Wilson on loan. Despite suffering a few bumps along the way, Lampard soon got Derby playing free-flowing football, leading them up the Championship table and pulling off a stunning Carabao Cup win at Manchester United.