Jermain Defoe accepts Woking job, admits it is a gamble | OneFootball

Jermain Defoe has been appointed Woking’s new manager, acknowledging that launching his senior coaching career in the National League is a gamble. The former Sunderland striker takes his first permanent role in the dugout.

According to Sunderland Echo, the 43-year-old replaces Neal Ardley at the Laithwaite Community Stadium. He inherits a side in 10th, 11 points off the play-offs with six matches left.

While promotion may prove beyond reach this season, the longer-term aim is to take Woking into the Football League for the first time in the club’s 139-year history.

Defoe’s coaching background includes an interim spell on Rangers’ staff in 2021 and a role in Tottenham Hotspur’s academy, which he left in 2024 to pursue a full-time managerial post.

He said management at any level carries risk, and stressed the need for positivity and conviction rather than negativity. He believes this group will be successful.

He added that a stellar playing career offers no guarantees, and that he has waited, completed his courses and put in the hours, and now intends to enjoy the opportunity. Across his career he scored 305 goals in 763 club games, plus 20 in 57 for England.

Source: Sunderland Echo