Research from the Sports People's Think Tank shows efforts to get more football coaches from a Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background are not progressing as hoped.
A study compiled by Loughborough University and the Fare Network shows only four per cent of coaches at England's 92 Premier League and EFL clubs are from a minority.
At the time the study concluded, on September 1, only three managers - Brighton's Chris Hughton, QPR's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Keith Curle of Carlisle - represented BAME, and Hasselbaink has been fired from his role since then.
Similar figures were found for assistant managers (three from 92 clubs), first-team head coaches (five from 67), reserve or senior development coaches (four from 64), professional U18 development lead coaches (three from 89) and academy directors (two from 89).
The report also found that only 17 out of 92 professional clubs employ a BAME coach and 25 per cent of those employed are on the staffs at QPR and Brighton.
That meant an overall figure of 20 BAME representatives from 493 employed senior coaches - a ratio of 4.1 per cent.
The figure, while remaining fairly constant from the 2015 report, is some way short of the 20 per cent target set for the year 2020 by the Sports People's Think Tank two years ago.
Their report read: "It remains disappointing to note that, since the first report in 2014, the figures have changed very little; the data continues to show that if you are from a BAME background and aspire to be a manager or coach, you are at a disadvantage.
"For us, the focus is on how we change this depressing reality. How can we lobby and assist the football authorities to deliver a genuinely level playing field for all those wishing to coach and manage at the elite level.
"Some people might still question why this issue is relevant when ethnic minorities, and the black community in particular, are so successful as players - it is surely a matter of time and progression. Our findings simply do not back this up, if effective action is not taken we face the same situation in the decades to come.
"We believe that to encourage diversity in coaching leadership will inform and improve coaching methods, help the development of players, and their on-field performance. Quite simply, greater diversity in coaching means better performance."