INTERVIEW
LEE CLARK
The former Huddersfield manager headed south to Sudan for his latest challenge – the biggest issue has been sunburn...
You moved to Africa in March, with Al-Merrikh near Khartoum. What’s it been like so far?
As a youngster, my house backed on to the Tyne –I never thought in those days that I’d be living in a hotel looking out on the River Nile. I looked into the club, the country and the potential of what could happen, in terms of taking the club forward. It was a big decision and I’ve been away from my family, but I’ve been loving it. I’ve been living in a hotel, occupying myself planning for the next day and the games ahead, or watching footage of teams we’ll be coming up against.
You took over Sudan’s champions, but some said it was a step down. What did you make of that?
Around the world, people think their league is the best and the only one that matters. Sudan has got its issues, but the football is still the same and so is the passion. Once COVID is gone, we’ll be getting 43,000 every week. I took over for a few games in the African Champions League, and we’ve got the Arab Club Champions Cup coming up. I don’t take notice of the people who make comments when they don’t really know what’s going on, because Scotland was the perfect example when I took the Kilmarnock job in 2016. People down south turned their noses up at it and said it was a backwards step, but it was fully justified. I went to a fantastic club.