Jermain Defoe accepts Woking job and calls it a managerial gamble | OneFootball

Former Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe has taken his first senior managerial post at Woking, calling the move a gamble as he starts life in the National League.

According to Sunderland Echo, the 43-year-old was unveiled earlier this week as successor to Neal Ardley at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.

He inherits a side 10th in the table, 11 points off the play-offs with six matches remaining. Promotion may be beyond them this term, but his longer-term target is to lead Woking into the Football League for the first time in their 139-year history.

Before arriving in Surrey, Defoe served in Rangers’ backroom on an interim basis in 2021 and later worked in Tottenham Hotspur’s academy, which he left in 2024 to pursue full-time management.

He said management brings risk at any level and stressed the need to stay positive, back himself and avoid negative thinking. He believes this group will be successful.

Defoe added that his playing career guarantees nothing in the dugout. He does not expect to walk into a top role, and having waited, completed his courses and put in the hours, he intends to relish this chance.

Across 763 club games he scored 305 goals, and he netted 20 times in 57 England appearances.

Source: Sunderland Echo