Jermain Defoe's first managerial job at Woking is over after 116 days. He was appointed on March 29 and left after a spell that, by the club's own count, lasted six competitive matches. Defoe said the exit was not what he wanted, but that circumstances had made it impossible to continue in the position.
Defoe's view of the exit
The clearest line came from Defoe himself. "Unfortunately, circumstances have ultimately made it impossible for me to continue in the position," he said to Sky Sports. He also said he was "extremely proud of the work undertaken during my time at the club and genuinely felt that we were building something special."
That is a fair way to frame a short, awkward spell. There is no claim here that he was given enough time to put his ideas into practice, only that he believed the work was moving in the right direction before the door closed.
Woking's brief Defoe spell
The numbers tell the story without much embellishment. Defoe oversaw six competitive matches, winning two and losing one, before Woking said the departure was by mutual agreement with immediate effect. BBC reported that it came two weeks before the opening match against Sutton United, and that his final game was a 1-0 defeat by Braintree Town in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday.
Woking finished 10th in the National League, which is the broader backdrop to the move. The club has now moved on from a first managerial experiment that never really had time to settle, and Defoe has described the experience as eye-opening and something that will make him stronger for the next challenge.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
