Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo said he would continue to take a knee before matches as part of football's anti-racism gesture even if he is the only person in the Premier League to do so.
The gesture in support of the Black Lives Matter movement has been a part of the Premier League and English Football League games since football resumed after the coronavirus shutdown in June.
Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha said he would stop taking a knee because it was "degrading", while Bournemouth and Brentford were among the Championship (second-tier) clubs to stop performing the gesture.
But Nuno, the only Black, Asian and minority ethnic manager in the league, said he remained committed to kneeling, although he does not expect to see instant change.
"If people don't believe that it can make a difference, then it's an individual opinion. But I will continue to do it," Nuno told reporters ahead of Saturday's visit to Aston Villa.
"It's a way to show what is my position, and maybe one day I will do it by myself. If they give me the chance, I will do it. You cannot give up.
"The results will not come immediately. It's a long, long battle. Even if the impact is not immediate, through a long time, we will reach it."
Nuno said striker Raul Jimenez, who is continuing his recovery after surgery on a fractured skull, is back training with the rest of the team.
"He's feeling good, and we decided that was the best step to integrate him into parts of the training session because working by yourself for many hours can become hard to handle," he said.
Wolves are 12th in the table with 34 points from 27 matches, five points behind ninth-placed Villa, who have played two games less.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
