The former England striker counts Rangers, Tottenham, Sunderland, West Ham and more amongst former clubs. A former Rangers, Sunderland and Tottenham star has declared he’s ready to become a senior manager.
Jermain Defoe is a well-liked figure in the game, having made his name as a clinical finisher at the likes of West Ham, Tottenham and the English national team. In the latter stages of his career, he shone for Sunderland and won a league title with Rangers in 2021 before hanging up his boots.
Defoe has since coached back at Tottenham in the youth ranks but having watched first-hand at Rangers the reign of Steven Gerrard – his former England teammate – he too wants to step into the senior environment. Rangers are currently hunting their new boss after the sacking of Philippe Clement, with club legend Barry Ferguson the interim gaffer. Pointing to other examples of England legends who have also embarked on management adventures, the former Ibrox, Sunderland and Tottenham man told Flashscore: “Rooney was ready. (Frank) Lampard was ready. Gerrard was ready. Of course I’m ready. I’ve done the ‘apprenticeship’ if you like, did the two years in the academy. I just feel like, what more do I need to do? “You do your coaching badges, you do your B Licence, A Licence, you do the pro licence, you coach the academies and that sort of stuff. There have been a lot of players who I have played with that have gone on to manage… but I’d like to think that now – not just now as I probably said it last year as well – having that experience, doing the courses and doing the two years in the academy at Tottenham, making mistakes, doing things behind the cameras, making sure you are ready, as well as playing at the top level for 22 years. I’m ready.” Speaking in 2024 on the Football Firsts podcast, Defoe admits he felt forced into a player-coaching role under Gerrard at Rangers. He said: “Before I went to Sunderland, I hadn’t played in about two or three months. Stevie (Gerrard) went and Giovanni van Bronckhorst came in. I had a meeting with him and he basically said to me, ‘listen, what’s this player/coach thing? “‘I see you in training, you’re sharp, what’s the situation? Do you want to play or do you want to coach?’ I said I want to play. To be totally honest, I didn’t even want the player/coach role. It was forced upon me. So I decided to go to Sunderland.”
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