Jermain Defoe Leaves Woking After Four Months in Charge
Jermain Defoe's brief stint as Woking manager is over. The club confirmed on a Thursday that they and Defoe had "mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect," ending a tenure that lasted just four months.
Defoe announced his departure in an Instagram post, writing that "circumstances have ultimately made it impossible for me to continue in the position." He described his time at the club as "an eye-opening managerial experience" and said he felt "we were building something special" BBC Sport.
The former England and Tottenham striker was appointed in March 2025, replacing Neal Ardley. He took over a Woking side in the National League — the fifth tier of English football, one step below the Football League — and guided them to a 10th-place finish in the 2024–25 season.
His record made for mixed reading. Defoe managed six National League matches, winning two. The standout result was a 5-1 demolition of Morecambe that confirmed the visitors' relegation — a ruthless afternoon that suggested the former striker's eye for goal had transferred, in spirit at least, to the dugout Woking FC.
His ninth and final game in charge was a 1-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Braintree Town on a Tuesday. The real season starts in two weeks, when Woking open their campaign against Sutton United — now without the man who was supposed to lead them into it.
For a player who scored 162 Premier League goals and earned 57 England caps, the step into non-league management was always going to be a test of patience as much as pedigree. Defoe walked into a club with modest resources and a fanbase hungry for momentum, and for a brief spell the 5-1 win over Morecambe offered a glimpse of what that pairing might produce.
That it lasted only four months tells its own story. "Circumstances" is a word that does a lot of heavy lifting in departure statements, and Defoe offered no further detail. What is clear is that Woking now face the start of a new season needing a new manager, and Defoe's own managerial career — just begun — already needs a next chapter.
