Jermain Defoe appointed manager of non-league club out of nowhere

Jermain Defoe has been appointed as the new manager of non-league Woking.

Woking, who play in the National League, were on the lookout for a new boss having sacked Neal Ardley at the beginning of March.

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And they’ve opted to hire former Premier League striker Defoe, who gets his first job as a manager.

“Woking is a historic club with huge potential, and I’m thrilled to be part of this exciting project. I can’t wait to get started,” Defoe said.

“Jermain’s achievements as a player speak for themselves, but what stood out to us during the process was how he sees the game, how he drives standards, and his approach to leadership and player development,” Woking chairman Todd Johnson said.

“We have a clear plan for where we want to go as a club, and we believe Jermain is the right person to build on the strong foundations already in place and help take us forward in the next phase of that journey.”

Defoe takes charge of a Woking side that are 11th in the National League with a play-off finish unlikely.

The Surrey-based club are nine points off seventh-placed Southend United, who occupy the final play-off spot.

Defoe’s first game in charge will see Woking entertain Eastleigh on Friday at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.

They have a league match at home to Altrincham on Tuesday night, however, the interim coaching team of Craig Ross, Jake Hyde and Dale Gorman will be in the dugout for that game.

Coach Defoe

Defoe brings in Paul Bracewell as his assistant with the former Everton player boasting coaching roles at Fulham, Sunderland and Halifax on his CV.

Woking also confirmed Ross and Hyde will continue to play important roles within the club’s coaching structure.

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As mentioned, this is Defoe’s first job in a managerial hotseat but the 162-goal Premier League star has been building his career in coaching before and after retiring from playing in 2022.

While at Rangers, Defoe undertook a player-coach role under Steven Gerrard.

He then became an academy coach at Tottenham Hotspur, taking charge of the club’s under-18 side in August 2022. He left the role in summer 2024.

“Jermain’s love of the game, his determination to succeed and his alignment with our preferred playing philosophy were important,” Woking director of football Jody Brown said.

“These are shared values in terms of the working environment, player development, and high-performance culture.

“He has a real appreciation for the club, the staff, the players, and what we’re building here.”

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Fan’s view

talkSPORT host and Woking superfan Ben Fletcher said: “Jermain Defoe is the highest profile managerial hire in the history of Woking FC by quite some distance and his arrival at Kingfield will bring a lot of excitement, and expectation, with it.

“There will be those, however, who will point to the former Spurs and England forward’s lack of experience in the dugout and knowledge of the National League and perhaps question whether this appointment is one of stardust over substance.

“Defoe joins a club with long held ambitions of reaching the EFL which have never been realised, most recently reaching the playoffs in 2023 under then manager Darren Sarll.

“The club, put on the map following a famous 4-2 victory over then first division West Brom in the FA Cup, and further success in the competition over the years, routinely recorded top five league finishes, runners up on two occasions, in what was then – frustratingly – a one up, one down system.

“With three FA Trophy wins to boot, but the arrival of the play-offs coincided with a downturn in fortunes on and off the pitch with the club spending most of the 2000s and 2010s looking down rather than up, and twice suffering relegation to National League South.

“Woking, now 11th in the National League, are very much looking up under the relatively new ownership of U.S based businessman, Johnson, who’s previously had controlling interests at Wealdstone and Dagenham and Redbridge. He has stated his aim to take the Cards to the promised land of the football league.

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“Defoe’s lack of managerial experience will be an obvious concern to some Cards supporters, who’ve seen seasoned managers like Sarll and Neal Ardley try and ultimately fail at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.

“But the high regard in which he’s held by the Rangers hierarchy after a brief interim spell there, as well as time spent in the Tottenham youth set-up, should be seen as encouraging.

“Comparisons to the ‘left of field’ appointments of former managers Michael Doyle and Anthony Limbrick will be drawn, so too the disastrous tenure of former Charlton midfielder Kim Grant, which ultimately led to relegation in 2009.

“It will be very interesting to see how Defoe intends to carry on the good work started by interim coaches -and former players – Craig Ross and Jake Hyde who I’m pleased to see are retained on the backroom staff after a much needed shot in the arm and oh so nearly a late charge for the playoffs.

“Many feel, me included, that the current team has the framework of a playoff worthy campaign and so recruitment will be important this summer. Would think/hope he has an impressive contacts book!

“I’ve watched Woking for 30 years, my two sons and I are season ticket holders, and if you’d told me in May 1997 – as we paraded the FA Trophy around old Wembley – that we’d still not achieved promotion to the football league in March 2026 I’d have laughed in your face.

“The only objective is promotion. Jermain, it’s over to you. Good luck and COME ON YOU CARDS.”

Defoe’s playing career

The 43-year-old is just getting started as a manager but he enjoyed a fine playing career.

Starting out at West Ham, Defoe scored 40 goals in 104 appearances before joining Spurs in February 2004.

A productive four-year spell in north London was followed by a year-long stint at Portsmouth under Harry Redknapp.

He was then brought back to Spurs by Redknapp in January 2009, helping the team to Champions League qualification for the first time the following season.

Defoe left Spurs for a second time in 2014 for a brief period with MLS club Toronto FC but returned to the Premier League with Sunderland in 2015.

He scored 37 goals in 100 appearances for the Black Cats but it’s Defoe’s friendship with young Sunderland supporter Bradley Lowery that defined his spell at the Stadium of Light, and arguably Defoe’s career.

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Lowery passed away in July 2017 aged six after a long battle with cancer but the work of Lowery and Defoe helped raise £1.3million to raise awareness for Neuroblastoma and childhood cancer in general.

Defoe then moved to Bournemouth, a club he was briefly on loan at in the early years of his career, in 2017 and departed after their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2019/20 season.

A new challenge in Scotland awaited Defoe with Rangers, although he had spent 18 months on loan with them from January 2019 before joining them permanently.

The 2020/21 season saw Rangers win the Scottish Premiership, their first league title in a decade, and also represented the first major trophy of Defoe’s career.

Having left Gers in January 2024, Defoe made a brief return to Sunderland but hung up his boots two months later.

Defoe made 57 appearances for the England national team, scoring 20 goals. The most noteworthy strike saw Defoe get the winning goal during the Three Lions’ 1-0 triumph over Slovenia to seal their place in the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup.